Germany: the next bird flu victim
The first confirmed case of bird flu in the EU this year has been confirmed. Germany authorities have informed EU officials of the virus found in dead birds in Nuremburg, south Germany.
Six dead wild birds – five swans and one Canada goose – have tested positive for a lethal strain (H5N1) of bird flu in the southern state of Bavaria. Three more cases of dead swans were later discovered in Leipzig in the eastern state of Saxony, bringing the total number to nine.
According to a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry, The government did not expect the outbreak to spread to other regions of the country.
Investigations are focusing on how the disease entered Germany, with the possibility of the virus entering from the Czech Republic. Further tests comparing the latest findings with viruses in Hungary and the Czech Republic should provide clues as to how the H5N1 strain entered Germany, he added.
Poultry farmers in the Nuremberg region have been ordered to confine all poultry to closed stalls. A 21-day ban has been imposed on moving poultry or poultry products in or out of the area, which is now a quarantine zone.
(Photo: National Geographic News)
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