After a wild duck tested positive for the H5N8 virus in Northeast Germany last week, farmers there were worried about a possible Europe-wide bird flu epidemic.

Earlier this month,  a tamed- bird turkey farm in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern discovered the virus.  Till Backhaus, its agriculture minister ordered all poultry farmers to keep their animals inside enclosures and away from wild birds to prevent dispersing the virus.

According to the WHO for Animal Health, over 200,000 ducks, turkeys, and chickens were killed in Europe to control the eruption. Health officials believe that once the virus is discovered in aselect bird, the entire flock must be destroyed.

No human cases of H5N8 have since occurred, but other bird flu strains have infected humans in the past.

Written by Neena Baliga’18