BRUSSELS, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), said on Monday that it was studying the possibility of avian flu outbreak in its candidate country Romania.

    Tests are being carried out to check whether the death of a flock of 40 ducks was due to the bird flu virus, said a press release of the Commission.

    Results of laboratory tests are due out on October 12, it added.

    The results should confirm whether the dreaded H5N1 strain of avian flu - which has decimated 125 million birds and killed 50 people in South East Asia since 2003 - is approaching European borders.

    The news comes barely a month after EU Health and Consumer Commissioner Markos Kyprianou urged Romania to get on with implementing EU veterinary and food safety rules during a visit tothe country.

    The EU has stepped up surveillance on wild birds and poultry inrecent months amid fears that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza could reach Europe. Enditem