No sign of bird flu has been found in a Romanian woman suspected of having the deadly virus, according to preliminary laboratory test results released on Saturday. Romania has found avian flu in poultry in 26 villages since October but has recorded no human cases. Earlier on Saturday, the 81-year-old woman from one of the affected villages was admitted to hospital in the south-eastern town of Galati with symptoms similar to bird flu. "Preliminary tests show no sign of bird flu. It looks like she has bronchitis," Adrian Streinu-Cercel, head of Romania's main virus laboratory in Bucharest, told Reuters. "But we still have to wait for the blood test result to be 100 percent sure," he said. Mariana Mardarescu, doctor at the laboratory, told a news conference that the final result would be available on Sunday. "The risk of bird flu is absolutely minimal. Her condition is good and she has no fever," Mardarescu said. Earlier this month, Romania tightened safeguards against bird flu, stepping up disinfection measures on major roads and introducing luggage checks at airports, train stations and sea ports. Fears that the disease may spread to people have grown since it infected 21 people in nearby Turkey, killing four children. Romania first detected the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus in birds in the Danube delta, which lies on a major migratory route for wild birds. Bird flu has killed at least 83 people, mostly in Asia, but scientists warn that if the virus mutates and spreads among humans it could cause a pandemic that would kill millions of people around the world.
