Isolated Cases Of Bird Flu In Germany

The dangers of the disease must not be underestimated...

In Germany a number of wild birds were recently tested for the H5N1 bird flu virus and came up positive.  The German National Animal Disease Institute said that they are monitoring the situation and fortunately there have been know new cases reported since this small but very serious incident.

In all six birds were found in Nuremberg in the south part of Germany in routine testing to monitor if the bird flu disease is present. The Ministry of Agriculture in Germany is hoping that the six birds in question were the only ones to have contracted the disease and that it has not gone any further. This case is the only reported case of avian flu in Germany in 2007.

As a precaution all farmers who deal with poultry in the area have been told to lock up their birds in confined areas and a three week ban has been imposed on moving birds around the area. This means that poultry cannot be taken to markets or to slaughterhouses until the all clear is announced by the Minister of Agriculture. The European Union has not had any human cases of the bird flu virus, however thirteen different member states reported poultry or wild birds being infected with the deadly H5N1 virus last year including the United Kingdom.

Health authorities in the European Union are conscious of the fact that they must locate and immediately quarantine any birds that have contracted the virus if they are serious about stopping its spread. The dangers of the disease must not be underestimated especially when you consider that around 200 people have died from the virus in a number of different countries worldwide and that it is possible that sometime in the future the avian virus could mutate into a far more deadly form.