BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania confirmed cases of deadly avian flu in birds in five more villages in and around the Danube delta on Thursday and warned migratory flocks could carry the virus south to neighbouring Bulgaria. 

The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has now been found in at least nine Romanian villages in the east of the country. The latest cases were confirmed after tests at a British laboratory. 

H5N1 is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia where it has killed 71 people since late 2003. Experts say a flu pandemic among humans could kill millions around the globe and cause massive economic losses. 

"Flocks of migratory birds are heading to the northern parts of Bulgaria," Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur told reporters, citing latest ornithologists' findings. "We sent a notification to the Bulgarian embassy." 

against the spread of the virus. 

Flutur said the virus appeared to be edging westwards to poultry in more densely populated areas but was unlikely to hit big cities like Bucharest because it spread only when migratory birds came into contact with domestic fowl. 

"The flu can't practically reach the capital," he said. 

The virus remains hard for people to catch, but there are fears it could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans. There have been no cases in people outside of Asia. 

BULGARIA ON ALERT  Following outbreaks in Romania and its southern neighbour Turkey in October of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, Bulgaria has stepped up monitoring in poultry farms and wetlands for possible cases. 

It has also banned poultry imports from affected countries such as Romania and Ukraine. 

Alexander Alexandrov, director of the state veterinarian office in northern Bulgaria, said birds had yet to land at their usual winter stopover at two lakes near the Black Sea. 

"We have issued orders for farmers to keep domestic birds indoors... We have also demanded higher sanitary standards at poultry farms to avoid the possible spread of the disease." 

Romania has set aside around $700,000 for compensation for farmers affected by the virus. Some 60,000 domestic birds have been culled and farmers are banned from selling live poultry anywhere in the country. 

Farm ministers from Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Moldova plan to meet in Bucharest in early February to discuss joining forces to fight the disease, Flutur said. 

The Danube delta is Europe's largest wetlands and lie on a major migratory route for wild birds which travel south each winter from Scandinavia and Russia to northern Africa. 

Romania has found bird flu strains in 19 villages in and around the delta. Nine outbreaks have been confirmed as H5N1 while tests are still pending on samples from other villages. 

Authorities said on Monday they detected the H5 virus in several hens and turkeys in the village of Braesti in Buzau county, about 130 km west of the Danube delta and about 150 km northeast of the capital Bucharest. 

(Additional reporting by Marius Zaharia and Tsvetelia Ilieva in Sofia)