The same day China and Romania reported fresh outbreaks of a deadly avian flu strain, Britain announced plans to inoculate its entire population once a vaccine is found.

So far, Britain has not recorded any cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu. But as the disease continues to spread across Europe, British authorities unveiled their defence plan Wednesday.

Acknowledging that it may be impossible to stop the virus from mutating into a virulent form easily spread among humans, Britain's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said he hopes to reduce its impact.

"One of the most effective counter-measures we can take against a flu pandemic is to make sure we develop and manufacture a vaccine as quickly as possible," he said.

The development of an effective vaccine against a flu pandemic -- if it arises -- could take four to six months of development once the strain is identified.

In the meantime, hospitals across Britain have been told to prepare to handle upwards of 20,000 patients a week should the virus mutate and start spreading from human to human.

European contingency plans

Also Wednesday, the European Union prepared its members for a pandemic by testing communications networks.

The EU's health spokesman said the 25 EU member states had carried out an exercise "designed to test the security of communications ... in case of a major public health emergency".

A simulation exercise to test the EU's ability to handle a major flu pandemic will also be conducted by the end of the year, the spokesman told reporters.

Fresh outbreaks

On Wednesday China and Romania reported fresh outbreaks of bird flu.

China announced that some 2,600 birds had died from the disease in Inner Mongolia.

The deaths, at a breeding farm near the region's capital of Hohhot, were due to the H5N1 strain, which is potentially lethal to humans, the Xinhua news agency said.

This year China has already suffered outbreaks of bird flu in Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet. Thousands of affected fowl have been slaughtered.

Also, in Brussels, a European Union official said there is a suspicion of bird flu in Macedonia.

The disease has already affected birds in Romania and Greece.

Tests confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain in a second location in Romania's eastern Danube Delta region.

And in Russia, the deaths of hundreds of birds in a region south of Moscow is being linked to the H5N1 virus.

Although further tests are being conducted to confirm initial test results, the finding has bolstered concern birds are spreading the disease south.

If verified, the discovery in the Tula region, about 125 miles south of Moscow, would mark the first time that the deadly virus has appeared in European Russia, west of the Ural Mountains.

Meanwhile in Canada, demand for flu shots is up about 10 per cent, and health officials suspect it may be driven by fears of avian flu.