Poultry farmers in parts of Germany have been ordered to lock up their flocks, following Saturday's discovery of flu pathogen H5N8 in a wild bird in Europe, dpa reported.
Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt recommended to state governments on Monday that they order poultry in some regions to be held inside sheds.
Farmers in several states, including Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and in some regions of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg have already begun keeping their poultry indoors. Other states are expected to follow up with similar rules later this week.
At the same time, authorities in some states have also increased their check-ups of migrating birds.
The bird flu virus has been found in recent months at poultry farms in Germany, the Netherlands and Britain.
The virus discovered at the farms was similar to one that was found in South Korea earlier this year, and which triggered a mass culling of poultry in the nation.