#925
On the heels of the outbreak in Czechoslovakia last week, Germany is now reporting that 7 waterfowl have tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
Interestingly, while the Spring of 2007 was somewhat less active than 2006, we seem to be seeing more outbreaks this summer than in years past.
Bird flu found in southern Germany
Sunday Jun 24 05:53 AEST
AP - Authorities posted caution signs around two Bavarian lakes on Saturday after seven dead birds tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, the first cases reported in Germany this year.
Nuremberg city authorities warned people to keep their dogs leashed and stay away from waterfowl after five swans, one duck and one goose all tested positive for H5N1.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry confirmed these as the first bird flu cases reported in Germany this year, and said the results of further tests were expected within a few days.
The additional tests were being done by the Friedrich-Loeffler Institut, which has dealt with most of Germany's previous H5N1 cases.
Last year, 13 EU nations were hit by bird flu - Austria, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Greece, Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary and France.
Bird flu was reported earlier this month in the Czech Republic and also surfaced elsewhere in the European Union earlier this year.
It is believed to spread along bird migration routes. The H5N1 strain has decimated poultry stocks since 2003 and killed at least 191 people worldwide, most of them directly infected by sick birds in Asia.
Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmitted between people.
