Bird flu confirmed in Germany

Published: Tuesday 10 March 2009 21:32 UTC
Last updated: Wednesday 11 March 2009 09:39 UTC

For the first time this year the H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in Europe. The European Commission has reported that the virus was discovered in a wild duck killed by hunters in the German state of Bavaria.

The virus was last confirmed in Europe in 2008, on a farm in Germany, close to the Polish border. The last time it was found in wild birds was more than a year ago, in Canadian geese in Great Britain.

Since the H5N1 virus first raised its head in 2003 in Asia, it has killed more than 250 people around the world. The virus is transferred to humans by direct contact with infected birds or with their excrement.