Denmark unclear on bird flu virus strain
Danish authorities said today they had found a wild bird infected with the H5 bird flu subtype, but it was not immediately clear whether it was the deadly H5N1 strain.
The government said more details would be released at a news conference later today. If confirmed as H5N1, it would be the first case of the virus in Denmark.
“Bird flu of the highly pathogenic H5 type has been found in a wild bird in Denmark,” the Family and Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Authorities had expected that bird flu would spread to Denmark after the virus was found in neighbouring Germany.
Sweden has also found dozens of birds infected with an aggressive strain of H5, but is still awaiting test results to confirm that it was H5N1.
That virus has killed 98 people in Asia, the Middle East and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation.
Experts fear it may mutate into a form passed easily between people and spark a pandemic.
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