Cases of H5N8 bird flu have been confirmed in the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. About 16,000 turkeys will be culled in one of Europe's major poultry production regions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
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Bird flu in Europe
The H5N8 strain of bird flu is spreading in Europe, and is highly contagious among birds. Thousands of birds have been culled.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kästle
Testing for H5N8
A laboratory worker in North Rhine-Westphalia tests a goose suspected of having bird flu. The H5N8 strain of the virus is highly contagious among poultry. According to the WHO, transmission to humans cannot be ruled out, "although the likelihood is low, based on the limited information available to date." The current outbreak was first detected in Germany on November 8.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
Restricted movement
A case of H5-type bird flu was detected at a poultry farm along this road in Cloppenburg county, Lower Saxony on November 23, leading to the culling of 16,000 turkeys. Authorities imposed a prohibited zone around the farm. The region is one of Europe's largest for poultry production, with millions of animals farmed there.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Strangmann
Rapid spread
The current spread of the H5N8 infection was first discovered on the Russian-Mongolian border in June. Cases of H5N8 have also been reported in several other European countries including Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark. Outbreaks were also reported in Israel and Iran. As of November 24, the virus had been reported in 12 German states.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/TNN
Birds under cover
In several German regions authorities have instructed farmers to keep their birds indoors in an effort to halt the spread. That's easier said than done for some - the breeder of these ostriches in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is hoping for an exemption.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Wüstneck
Risks to other animals
While there's no evidence that mammals are being infected by H5N8, some German authorities have marked off areas where domestic animals are not allowed to roam. That's to prevent the pathogen spreading by infected dung sticking to an animal's fur or paw. Experts also think the disease could be spread among birds by predators ripping open infected wildfowl.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
'Dynamic spread'
An official scours the shores of Lake Constance on Germany's southern border for dead birds on November 14. The president of Germany's Friedrich Löffler institute for animal health, Thomas Mettenleiter, said the infection was jumping rapidly from wild to domestic fowl. "We are currently seeing an extremely dynamic process with a strong tendency to spread," he said.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kästle
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The Environment Ministry in Saxony-Anhalt announced Thursday that for the first time two cases of H5N8 bird flu had been found in the eastern German state. The virus was found in a dead swan in the Jerichower Land area and a small poultry farm in the region of Harz, according to the Friedrich Löffler Institute, which addresses farm animal health and welfare.
Bird flu cases are spreading throughout GermanyImage: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Rehder
"Due to the new risk situation, we have immediately decided that poultry must be kept in their sheds, however, exceptions are possible in some individual cases," Environment Minister for Saxony-Anhalt Claudia Dalbert said.
In Lower Saxony, a case of H5N8 was confirmed at a commercial farm in Cloppenburg, the state's Agriculture Ministry said.
Some 16,000 turkeys had been ordered killed as a precaution when it was confirmed the flu was of the H5 strain. A prohibited zone has been set up with a radius of at least three kilometers (1.8 miles) around the farm and further birds within one kilometer may also have to be killed.
Lower Saxony is one of Germany's most important suppliers of poultry and eggs. According to local officials, there are more than 13 million animals farmed in the Cloppenburg region alone.
Combating the spread
The virus was first reported in Germany earlier in November and with the addition of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony has now been detected in 12 German states. It is spreading rapidly throughout northern Europe, probably being carried by wildfowl that do not show any symptoms.
Authorities have responded with restrictions on the transport of certain products from farm to farm.
While research suggests the H5N8 virus is not dangerous to humans or other mammals, some authorities have marked off areas where domestic animals are not allowed to roam, hoping to counter the spread of the virus by preventing infected dung sticking to animals' fur or paws.
Bird flu in Europe
The H5N8 strain of bird flu is spreading in Europe, and is highly contagious among birds. Thousands of birds have been culled.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kästle
Testing for H5N8
A laboratory worker in North Rhine-Westphalia tests a goose suspected of having bird flu. The H5N8 strain of the virus is highly contagious among poultry. According to the WHO, transmission to humans cannot be ruled out, "although the likelihood is low, based on the limited information available to date." The current outbreak was first detected in Germany on November 8.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
Restricted movement
A case of H5-type bird flu was detected at a poultry farm along this road in Cloppenburg county, Lower Saxony on November 23, leading to the culling of 16,000 turkeys. Authorities imposed a prohibited zone around the farm. The region is one of Europe's largest for poultry production, with millions of animals farmed there.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Strangmann
Rapid spread
The current spread of the H5N8 infection was first discovered on the Russian-Mongolian border in June. Cases of H5N8 have also been reported in several other European countries including Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark. Outbreaks were also reported in Israel and Iran. As of November 24, the virus had been reported in 12 German states.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/TNN
Birds under cover
In several German regions authorities have instructed farmers to keep their birds indoors in an effort to halt the spread. That's easier said than done for some - the breeder of these ostriches in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is hoping for an exemption.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Wüstneck
Risks to other animals
While there's no evidence that mammals are being infected by H5N8, some German authorities have marked off areas where domestic animals are not allowed to roam. That's to prevent the pathogen spreading by infected dung sticking to an animal's fur or paw. Experts also think the disease could be spread among birds by predators ripping open infected wildfowl.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
'Dynamic spread'
An official scours the shores of Lake Constance on Germany's southern border for dead birds on November 14. The president of Germany's Friedrich Löffler institute for animal health, Thomas Mettenleiter, said the infection was jumping rapidly from wild to domestic fowl. "We are currently seeing an extremely dynamic process with a strong tendency to spread," he said.