German authorities late on Saturday confirmed a second case of the H5N8 strain of bird flu in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with the virus found in a wild bird.
The strain is highly contagious among birds.
“For the first time, the H5N8 virus has been confirmed in a wild bird in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,” Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt said in a statement.
“With that the suspicion is strengthened that wild birds are connected with the cases in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as in the Netherlands and Britain,” the minister said. As a precautionary measure, all German states should consider ordering farmers to keep their animals in the stalls, Schmidt added.
Germany and the Netherlands were working closely together with the aim of preventing a possible spread of the virus and to trace back its origin, the minister said.
The first H5N8 case in Germany was confirmed on November 4 on a poultry farm in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Some 5,000 birds were infected by the disease, of which 1,880 died. Dutch health authorities on Saturday were destroying 8,000 ducks to prevent the possible spread of bird flu, which has infected three farms in a week in the Netherlands, a leading poultry and egg exporter.
Bird flu has infected three farms in a week in the Netherlands
Tests show that the bird flu viruses found in Germany, the Netherlands and Britain are similar to one that devastated poultry flocks in South Korea earlier this year, the World Organisation for Animal Health has said. South Korea had to slaughter millions of farm birds to try to contain the outbreak.
Meanwhile experts in the Netherlands are warning that the density of farms and the increasing number of animals in one of the most intensive agricultural sectors in the world make it vulnerable to disease. The discovery, a week ago, of a highly infectious strain of bird flu at a Dutch farm forced officials to impose a three-day lockdown on the transport of all poultry and related products.
But the transport freeze, which cost the industry €100 million, did not stop the discovery of similar or identical strains at two nearby farms, forcing the already expensive halt to be extended to a full week.
“When there is a disease in the Netherlands, which is the country in the world where the concentration of farms is the highest, be it for poultry or pigs, it hurts,” said Bernard Vallat, head of the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Dutch agriculture defends its practices, with the poultry industry pointing out it has invested hugely in hygiene since the last bird flu epidemic 11 years ago.
While the industry has become an incredible source of wealth, efficiency has come at a cost.
Experts said having so many farms and animals packed together has made the system highly vulnerable to disease.