Black Sea nations to join forces to fight bird flu

BUCHAREST, Mar 6 (Reuters) Black Sea countries hit by bird flu agreed today to cooperate in fighting a virus which has led to the culling of millions of domestic fowl and multi-million dollar losses in agriculture.

Wetlands near the Black Sea lie on a major migratory route for wild birds, believed to be the carriers of the virus in its highly pathogenic H5N1 form.

Officials and experts from European Union candidates Romania and Bulgaria, as well as from Turkey, Ukraine and Moldova said the countries will establish a regional observation network to study flight paths of wild birds and predict future outbreaks.

''Only united can we fight the scourge,'' Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur told a news conference.

The five states will jointly asses new outbreaks in border areas and set up a research facility in Romania. Moldova, one of Europe's poorest counties, will send samples from suspected birds to Romanian laboratories.

Bird flu has battered the region since October, when Europe's first recorded outbreak of bird flu occured in poultry flocks in the Danube delta near the Black Sea coast.

''The Danube delta is like an airport for waterfowl. The laboratory will be created in the Danube delta town of Tulcea,'' Flutur said. He did not elaborate.

H5N1 has killed birds in more than 30 countries throughout the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. It has spread to at least 15 new countries in the past month, and has infected 175 people since 2003, killing 95.

REUTERS CH KP2159