BERLIN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Bird flu has spread to poultry farms in nine of Germany's 16 federal states, Germany's federal animal health agency said on Thursday.
According to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), a total of 45 outbreaks of bird flu have been confirmed since early September, resulting in the culling of more than 500,000 animals as the highly contagious H5N1 strain continues to spread rapidly.
The northwestern German state of Lower Saxony has reported the highest number of cases, with infections confirmed at 13 poultry farms.
To curb the spread of the virus, several German states have begun implementing preventive measures. The southwestern state of Saarland, which borders France and Luxembourg, became the first to order poultry to be kept indoors starting Thursday. The northern city state of Hamburg has since followed suit, introducing a ban on free-range poultry from Friday.
German virologist Klaus Stoehr on Wednesday cautioned that the growing spread of bird flu across Germany could carry the potential for another pandemic. ■
