Hungary finds H5 bird flu virus in poultry

Hungary´s animal health authorities have found the H5 avian flu virus in domestic poultry, but it was not clear yet whether it was the deadly H5N1 subtype, the Agriculture Ministry said on Friday.

"The H5 virus type has been found in domestic poultry," Agriculture Ministry spokesman Andras Dekany told Reuters.


He would not go into details but the ministry will hold a press conference at 1300 GMT.


The H5N1 virus killed over 60 wild birds in Hungary in February and March, but there have not been any cases in domestic poultry and the government lifted all safety zones in late April as there had been no cases at all for a month.




Neighboring Romania has reported a series of bird flu outbreaks on farms across the country, leading to the culling of hundreds of thousands of fowl.


Neither country has had a case in humans.