# 1117
Another indication that the H5N1 virus may be more deeply entrenched in Europe than previously suspected comes from lab tests that showed apparently healthy ducks to be infected with bird flu.
200,000 birds to be slaughtered in Germany over bird flu suspicion
(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-08 05:48MUNICH, Germany _ German authorities said Friday that more than 200,000 ducks would be slaughtered at two farms in Bavaria after tests indicated the presence of the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
The head of Bavaria's state office for health and food safety, Volker Hingst, said the slaughter was "a purely precautionary measure," taken after "laboratory indications of H5N1" were found. The birds were not visibly sick, he said.
The two farms are located near Schwandorf, east of Nuremberg, and have a total of 205,000 ducks. It was not immediately clear how the virus might have gotten there.
Last month, more than 160,000 ducks were slaughtered at another Bavarian poultry farm following an outbreak of the disease. Officials have said that contaminated straw was the likely source in that case.
