The H5N1 bird flu virus found in Germany

The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in several ducks at a poultry farm in the southern German state of Bavaria, local authorities said on Saturday.

A three-kilometre security zone was thrown up around the farm at Wachenroth near the city of Erlangen following the discovery on Friday, the authorities said.

Tests were being carried out at a lab in northern Germany to determine which strain of H5N1 the birds were infected with and results are due next week.

The virus was detected in three young ducks from a batch delivered four weeks ago by a supplier in the northern German state of Lower Saxony, whose premises will also be inspected, a spokeswoman for the agriculture ministry in Berlin said.

All 44,000 ducks at the Wachenroth farm may have to be destroyed depending on the results of the tests and following a full inspection of the site, which also contains around 60,000 other animals, the spokeswoman said.

H5N1 was found in other ducks in Bavaria this month and over the summer around 50 wild birds were found dead with the virus across the country.

There are two strains of H5N1 -- low pathogenic, which is less dangerous, and high pathogenic, which can be lethal for birds and can also infect humans, sometimes fatally.

Migrating birds can infect domesticated birds with the highly pathogenic strain. Experts fear it will mutate into a strain that can be transmitted between humans.

Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa