Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Re: H5N1 bird flu found in dead wild bird in Germany
Lethal strain of bird flu found in fourth German state
Thu, 05 Jul 2007
Author : DPA
Berlin - Some 38 wild birds have tested positive for a lethal strain of bird flu in a fourth German state, health authorities said Thursday. The birds were found with the H5N1 strain in the eastern state of Thuringia, the Friedrich Loeffler federal animal diseases institute said.
They were among 100 birds found dead in an artificial lake on the border between Thuringia and the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Tests were being carried out on the other birds by the disease laboratory on the Baltic Sea island of Riems.
Last week, wild swans, geese and ducks were found with H5N1 in Leipzig in the eastern state of Saxony and in the southern city of Nuremberg in Bavaria.
French authorities said Thursday that three swans found dead in eastern France were carrying the deadly H5N1 virus.
Some 190 people around the world have died of bird flu since 2003, mainly through coming into close contact with infected poultry, according to the World Health Organization.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, which could touch off a global pandemic that would kill millions of people.
Last year, bird flu was confirmed in 13 European Union member states: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, France and Hungary.
A new outbreak was confirmed in the Czech Republic late last month. German officials said they believed the disease might have spread from there to Germany.
Germany was expected to raise its risk-preventive measures throughout the country from "moderate" to "high," following the latest deaths.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/79574.html
Lethal strain of bird flu found in fourth German state
Thu, 05 Jul 2007
Author : DPA
Berlin - Some 38 wild birds have tested positive for a lethal strain of bird flu in a fourth German state, health authorities said Thursday. The birds were found with the H5N1 strain in the eastern state of Thuringia, the Friedrich Loeffler federal animal diseases institute said.
They were among 100 birds found dead in an artificial lake on the border between Thuringia and the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Tests were being carried out on the other birds by the disease laboratory on the Baltic Sea island of Riems.
Last week, wild swans, geese and ducks were found with H5N1 in Leipzig in the eastern state of Saxony and in the southern city of Nuremberg in Bavaria.
French authorities said Thursday that three swans found dead in eastern France were carrying the deadly H5N1 virus.
Some 190 people around the world have died of bird flu since 2003, mainly through coming into close contact with infected poultry, according to the World Health Organization.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, which could touch off a global pandemic that would kill millions of people.
Last year, bird flu was confirmed in 13 European Union member states: Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, France and Hungary.
A new outbreak was confirmed in the Czech Republic late last month. German officials said they believed the disease might have spread from there to Germany.
Germany was expected to raise its risk-preventive measures throughout the country from "moderate" to "high," following the latest deaths.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/79574.html