The latest site with the lethal H5N1 bird flu in Romania was confirmed to be just 40 km away from the northern Bulgarian border, in the Gurgevo province.

A statement posted on a municipal website denounces earlier refusals on the availability of the lethal virus in the area.

The site with detected infection is located around the village of Balbukata, and Romanian authorities are pledging it has been disinfected. The settlement is under quarantine and some 800 birds were culled, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) informed.

On Tuesday, the first laboratory responsible for testing birds for the deadly H5N1 virus opened at the National Veterinary Diagnosis Center in Chisinau. The lab's equipment worth EUR 144,000 was purchased from the financial resources allocated by the European Commission.

The World Bank and European Commission have established a new USD 70 M trust fund to help countries prepare for a possible outbreak of bird flu.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, they said the Avian and Human Influenza Facility (AHI) will provide grant handouts for countries in Central Asia, South and East Asia, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.

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