Romania reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak on a farm

Romania has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, on a farm in the centre of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.

The outbreak in the town of Codlea near the city of Brasov infected 42,154 poultry birds, killing 23,472 of them, the Paris-based body said, quoting information from Romania's health authorities.

It was the first occurrence of the disease since May last year, the report said.

Bird flu has wiped out tens of millions of birds in Europe in the past year. Many of the birds were slaughtered to stop the disease from spreading.