BUCHAREST, Oct 15: Laboratory tests showed on Saturday that the same deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu as that found in Turkey and Asia had infected ducks in Romania, confirming the virus had reached Europe.

A British laboratory testing Romanian samples established that three birds found dead in the Danube delta last week contained the H5N1 strain, which has killed more than 60 people and caused the death of millions of birds in Asia since 2003.

The World Health Organization’s top influenza expert, echoing previous warnings, said the virus could mutate into a form that could kill thousands or millions of people around the world and urged governments to prepare for such a pandemic.

In China, state media said a new, improved vaccine for birds had been developed.—Reuters