Germany on Sunday stepped up the fight against avian flu with the launch of a mass slaughter of poultry and the army deploying a special unit on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, where a minimum of 59 cases of the deadly virus have been detected among birds, DPA reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel also visited Ruegen Sunday, declaring the situation to be serious and offering additional help from the Federal Government. In travelling to Ruegen, Merkel also visited the island not just as the nation's leader but as the parliamentary representative of the region which forms part of her electorate. "The infestation of domestic poultry had so far not been determined", said Merkel. "That is the good message." Defence officials said they had dispatched a 19-member unit specialising in decontamination to help stop the spread of the H5N1 virus, which has also been known to kill humans. The so-called ABC unit has set up equipment and has started disinfecting both vehicles and people leaving the island, which on Sunday was declared a "bird disease protection zone." This means that the sale and transport of poultry from the island is banned for 21 days. However, another five, suspect dead birds were found outside the protection zone on the mainland late Sunday, officials said. Meanwhile, measures are underway for a mass culling of poultry on Ruegen to halt the virus from infecting domestic fowl such as ducks, geese and chickens. Many farmers on Ruegen rely on poultry as a source of income. But Germany's poultry industry association was confident that the outbreak of the virus could be contained.
