Three more villages in two eastern counties in Romania were quarantined on Monday following the discovery of further cases of bird flu, according to reports from the Romanian news agency Rompres.

The village of Deleni in Constanta county was put under quarantine law after a number of dead chickens there tested positive for the H5 subtype of bird flu virus. The village is now the county's 14th quarantine zone.

The local government started culling all 2,400 domestic birds in the county on Monday and set up disinfection points and a quarantine zone at the entries and exits of the village.

But health officials from the county expressed doubt over the origin of the infection, as the village has no river or lake and is not a known resting place for migratory birds, according to the report.

On the same day, the villages of Florica and Coltea in the eastern county of Braila were also quarantined after cases of bird flu were found.

A total of 14 areas in Constanta county have been quarantined since the beginning of this year, making it the worst hit area of the country. However, quarantine measures were lifted in five areas last Monday.

Bird flu has hit more than 40 areas and a small Black Sea resort in Romania since the disease was first detected in the Danube Delta in October last year. However, no human cases have been discovered in the country.

Source: Xinhua