New ‘severe strain’ of bird flu is spreading across Europe in latest H5N8 outbreak

FRESH outbreaks of a "severe strain" of bird flu have been discovered across Europe.

The virus has been reported in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Holland, Denmark and Croatia.

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In the German state of Schleswig-Holstein one farmer had to slaughter 30,000 chickens infected with bird flu.

An area more than a mile square was sealed off in an effort to contain the spread.

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Agricultural minister Christian Schmidt said the government had set up a crisis management desk.

A second outbreak was reported yesterday at a chicken farm in the western Austrian province of Vorarlberg - close to the German and Swiss borders.

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Farmers across Europe have been told to keep flocks contained to stop them getting infected, while protection zones are being set up to stop wild migrating birds transmitting the disease to farm poultry.

Another chicken farm in Austria tested positive for bird flu, properly named the H5N8 virus, on Friday.

The virus was also discovered among dead birds in Lake Geneva, Switzerland yesterday.

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