Bird flu hits weasel-like animal

[K A I N]

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a stone marten, a German laboratory said Thursday, indicating the disease has spread to another species of mammal.

The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute confirmed the presence of the virus in the marten, a weasel-like animal, found on the island of Ruegen in north Germany on March 2.

The animal, sick and apparently dying, was found near the Wittow Ferry area of the island, where cats and birds have been found with the disease.

It was then killed by a government veterinarian, the institute said in a statement.

The discovery last month that the virus had passed from wild birds to cats on Ruegen raised concerns about the disease's ability to spread. Infected cats have also been found in Austria.

"The presence of an H5N1 infection in a second mammalian species is not surprising," Till Backhaus, the regional minister for agriculture, said in a statement.

"Cats and martens have a comparable prey spectrum."

Cats are believed to have caught the virus by eating infected birds.

[africas seed]

i believe it is only a matter of time till the virus mutates and is able to infect humans

[MIC]

i believe it is only a matter of time till the virus mutates and is able to infect humans

Well, it already happened in Asia, so I don't think it'll be different in Europe.

[virtuoso]

Notice this is gathering pace as the war with iran looms nearer? this is just a weapon of mass distraction designed to whip up europe into a frenzy of fear and of course distract them away from what is really going on. I live in the UK and last year MRSA which is a hospital bug killed over 10,000 people in the UK last year, Blood clots killed 40,000 people in the UK and other hospital bugs are beginning to appear. Vioxx is estimated to have killed over 56,000 people, psychtrophics are causing the suicides of tens of thousands of people and yet the news is full of the bird flu. Interestingly I watched BBC News and they were taking about tens of millions of people who could be killed, then i switch over onto Channel 4 News and they then feature a segment on the estimated numbers in which they feature the so called new person in the World Health Authority saying he made a mistake and that worst case scenario it will kill a tenth of the number i first mentioned.
This is just bullshit mind manipulation.

[J Bananas]

^^^
ok first of all, this has nothing to do with america so i dont even know why ur posting in here, and dude like this 1 out of 4 arguments you recycle around here in response to shocking scandalous conspiracy discoveries, theyre talking about a bird virus no ones getting distracted but you

[virtuoso]

I wasnt referring to the people in here, but i am saying this is what the media's intention is, otherwise why are we hearing about it every single day.

[Jip]

you would have to rub ur penis on a bird infected with it to catch bird flu

well, thats how close contact you would have to be

[MIC]

you would have to rub ur penis on a bird infected with it to catch bird flu

well, thats how close contact you would have to be

If it mutates and starts infecting people like it did in Asia, you'd have to stop rubbing your penis on other people. 

But actually it's transmitted mostly by air, so you can get infected even if you keep your dick in your pants.

[BigG]

i think it is a distraction. i know some people got the bird flu but i dont think that its going to spread all over the world. But maybe im wrong??

[Mac 10 †]

i love the weasel