ERLANGEN , Germany, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Officials in Germany slaughtered 160,000 geese this weekend after the HSN1 bird flu virus was found on a poultry farm in the country’s Bavarian region.
The cull, the biggest ever in Germany, was ordered after 400 geese were found dead, the Deutsche Welle reported.
Tests by the Friedrich Loeffler Institute of Veterinary Medicine found the deadly strain of the virus in five of the birds, the report said.
An exclusion area was set up around the town, near the city of Erlangen. A team of vets and poultry workers placed the geese onto large containers where they were either gassed or electrocuted.
Officials said they do not yet know the source of the virus on the farm. The deadly HSN1 virus has killed more than 200 people worldwide in recent years, mostly in Asia.
