German authorities announced plans to slaughter approximately 14,000 birds across roughly 90 farms within a 3-kilometer radius of an infected property in Wermsdorf, a town near Leipzig in the eastern state of Saxony. The outbreak marks the first confirmed H5N1 case on a German farm.
The highly pathogenic Asian strain of the virus was identified Wednesday at the Wermsdorf facility, which held about 16,400 turkeys, chickens, and geese. All birds at that farm were killed by Thursday afternoon. Meat from affected animals will be destroyed, and any poultry that left the zone in the past two weeks will be pulled from the food supply.
Farm owner Lorenz Eskildsen estimated losses exceeding one million euros. Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer warned the country faces a prolonged struggle, saying the virus could remain a threat "for a long time, possibly years."
Officials believe wild birds introduced the virus to the area through local wetlands. H5N1 has already been detected in 274 wild birds across seven German states, and has infected three cats and a stone marten on the Baltic island of Ruegen. Germany is now the second EU member state to confirm bird flu among domestic poultry, following France's outbreak in late February.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.