VZCZCXRO7846
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #0294 0711539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121539Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3551
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHMZ/AMCONSUL MUNICH 2010

UNCLAS BERLIN 000294 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO DEPT FOR AIAG, OES/STC, OES/IHA, MED, OGAC AND EAP/EP, 
EAP/MLS, EAP/J, INR 
HHS PASS TO CDC 
HHS FOR OGHA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMED EAGR TBIO KFLU PREL ECON CASC GM
SUBJECT: Bavarian Avian Influenza Incident Report 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary: A duck shot on January 10, 2009 in Bavaria 
was confirmed on March 10 as a carrier of highly pathogenic 
avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1virus.  The bird was tested as part 
of a routine wild bird surveillance program.  Germany 
considers the event an isolated incident, and there are no 
indications that the virus is spreading among wild bird 
populations or the German domestic poultry stock. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The mallard duck was among 35 killed during a hunt 
near Lake Starnberg, in the German state of Bavaria, about 
30km (18mi) from Munich.  Four Canadian geese were also killed 
in the hunt, and during subsequent routine screening of the 
carcasses, none of the 39 birds showed outward indications or 
symptoms of infection.  As part of an EU-wide wild bird 
monitoring program, swab samples from all 39 birds were 
submitted to the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food 
Security, which found that one of the ducks was a carrier of 
HPAI H5N1.  The positive finding was confirmed March 10 by the 
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), Germany's Federal Research 
Institute for Animal Health. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Experts from the Starnberg administrative district, 
the Upper Bavaria regional administration, the Bavarian State 
Office for Health and Food Security, the Bavarian State Office 
for Environment and Health, and the German Federal Ministry of 
Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection indicated, through 
a combined statement by the Starnberg district office, that 
the positive finding was not surprising because wild birds are 
"natural reservoirs for influenza viruses". 
 
¶4.  (U)  The FLI's most recent risk assessment, from February 
23, characterizes the risk for introduction and spread of HPAI 
H5N1 to poultry stocks from the wild bird population as "low". 
Based on this assessment, the isolated nature of the finding, 
and the concurring professional evaluations from the relevant 
state and federal ministries that there are no indications of 
the virus' introduction to the poultry stock, German 
authorities have decided not to set up additional monitoring 
areas or quarantine zones.  The EU Commission has issued a 
statement supporting this decision. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The Starnberg district office categorized the event 
as a single, random finding and noted that this is the only 
bird, of the 468 from the district that have been tested since 
Germany's first outbreak in 2006, to ever test positive.  In 
reinforcing its characterization of the event as isolated, the 
office also pointed out that 20 birds shot in the same area 
the following day all tested negative for the virus. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Embassy Berlin and Consulate General Munich 
coordinated on this cable. 
 
 
KOENIG