Romanian authorities identified an H5 subtype of the bird flu virus on Sunday in a southeast village near the Black Sea, the state Rompres news agency reported.

The case was detected after dozens of domestic fowls and chicks died on a farm in the village of Topraisar in Constanta County. Two children, aged seven and four, were also reported to be suffering from mild respiratory problems and taken to hospital.

Local authorities have sent samples of the virus to the national laboratory in Bucharest for verification.

Topraisar was being sealed off for quarantine, with villagers receiving medical checkups and vaccinations.

Rompres also reported that the three dead hens found last Tuesday in the village of Cetate, Dolj County, close to the border with Bulgaria, had proven to be killed by the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, which can also infect human beings.

The report came one day after the Agriculture Ministry confirmed the H5 bird flu virus had been found in poultry in the Danube Delta village of Jurilovca.

The virus was detected in preliminary tests Thursday, causing the culling of thousands of birds.

Since the first outbreak of bird flu in October 2005, the epidemic has spread to nearly 30 villages across Romania. No human case has been reported in the country so far.

Source: Xinhua