A Romanian man who was suspected of having contracted bird flu has tested negative for the human form of the disease, doctors said Monday.

The man, 21, who lives in the southwest village of Cetate where the deadly H5N1 virus was detected in birds, was hospitalized on Sunday in Bucharest after showing flu symptoms.

But preliminary tests showed the man does not have bird flu. Doctors said the man would remain in hospital until he was cured.

Further tests will be performed Monday at a Bucharest national laboratory.

This is the 11th suspected case of human bird flu in Romania, but so far none have been confirmed.

The deadly H5N1 strain was first detected in Romania in October after infecting domestic fowl in the Danube Delta, a large natural reserve visited by hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. So far, bird flu has been detected in 34 villages across Romania.

Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted between humans, sparking a pandemic.

A total of 170 human cases of bird flu involving 92 deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Feb. 20.

Source: Xinhua