The deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu has not spread to domestic birds in Germany, tests results released on Thursday showed.

A duck among 50 ducks and chickens that were culled as precaution on the north-east island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea was suspected to have infected the virus but tests conclusively cleared the suspicion.

Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said a series of tests conducted by the Institute of Animal Health had shown conclusively that the animal was not contaminated.

So far 110 bird flu cases have been reported in Germany, all but three on Ruegen. Six new cases were reported on Thursday, including one on the mainland.

Officials said the outbreak appeared to be moving westward as a breed of heron was found with the disease in a remote part of the state of Mecklenberg-West Pomerania.

Seehofer and his regional counterparts held a meeting here Thursday afternoon discussing the issue of vaccination in Germany's bird flu-ridden areas as the Netherlands and France were granted permission by the European Commission on Wednesday to protect their industries by vaccinating large numbers of poultry.

The H5N1 virus, which has claimed at least 91 human lives since it was first found in South-East Asia in mid-2003, was thought to have been brought to Germany by migratory birds from Russia.

Source: Xinhua