New Case of Bird Flu In Germany Confirmed

December 16, 2007 2:05 p.m. EST

Berlin, Germany (AHN) - Two local chickens in a farm in the Oberhavel region, northwest of Berlin tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, German authorities confirmed Saturday.

The Associated Press reports that the Brandenburg state's Agriculture Ministry sent the birds for testing after several of the nine other chickens in the coop died.

The remaining birds were slaughtered to prevent the bird flu from spreading.

Officials are now testing other poultry within the three-kilometer radius to check whether they have been infected.

The H5N1 strain, which is lethal to humans, can be transferred from animals.

In August, a bird flu outbreak affected the German state of Bavaria, prompting authorities to order the slaughter more than 160,000 birds.

Several cases have resurfaced this year due to the influx of migratory birds.

The epidemic even infected three cats and a marten in Germany in 2006.

Bird flu has claimed the lives of more than 200 people worldwide, based on the latest count of the World Health Organization.

In earlier research, German scientists found three distinct variants of H5N1 avian influenza virus in wild birds in Germany, two of which might have been brought in by wild birds migrating from Russia.