Bird flu confirmed in sixth German state

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in Lower Saxony, the sixth German state to be reached by the virus, the state agriculture ministry said yesterday.

A wild goose found dead last Sunday tested positive for the strain, said ministry spokesman Gert Hahne.

Germany’s first cases of the virus, announced February 14, were on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which still accounts for most of the approximately 140 confirmed cases.

It was also in Ruegen that authorities found a cat had died of H5N1, the only case of the virus in Germany not found in a wild bird.

Lower Saxony borders Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to the west and is home to 72 million of Germany’s 125 million domestic birds.

The goose with H5N1, however, was not found near a poultry farm, officials said.

Another two wild birds also tested positive yesterday in Schleswig Holstein - the state to the north of Lower Saxony. The new finds make a total of seven wild birds that have tested positive for H5N1 there.