A DEAD cat found on the German island of Ruegen this week was infected with the highly pathogenic form of H5N1 bird flu that can be fatal to humans, the national veterinary laboratory today.
The Friedrich Loeffler Institute said the cat had exactly the same highly contagious strain of the virus detected in wild swans found on the Baltic Sea island, the epicentre of Germany's bird flu outbreak.
The laboratory said it was the first case of its kind in the European Union.
It referred to the type of H5N1 found in the cat as the "Asian" strain of the virus that has claimed 93 human lives since 2003.
It also killed domestic cats, tigers and a panther in Asia in 2004, leading German scientists to remark that they were not surprised a feline here had succumbed to the disease.
The cat was found near a docked ferry on Ruegen, the same spot where infected wild swans were found in mid-February, signalling the start of the outbreak in Germany.
The case has prompted the German authorities to order pet owners in bird flu-hit regions from the Baltic to the southern border with Switzerland to keep cats indoors and dogs on leashes.
EU veterinary experts have widened the call, advising pet owners in all affected areas in the 25-nation bloc to follow the same precautions.
The appearance of the virus in a cat, which officials believe ate an infected wild bird, has also heightened fears of a long-running epidemic in Germany that could infect poultry and humans.
German media reported today that Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer was considering restricting access to the country's poultry farms, which have so far been spared the virus, to staff and vets.
Mr Seehofer also announced an urgent meeting of agriculture and health officials to discuss measures to contain the bird flu outbreak.
The number of wild birds found in Germany to have carried H5N1 rose to 136 today, and police and the army were flying over the worst-hit area of the Baltic coast in helicopters to search for bird carcasses.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has said it remains unclear whether the EU's first feline case of bird flu was cause for concern that people could contract the virus from cats.
"We don't know," WHO flu spokesman D_ick Thompson said in Geneva.
"Is it significant? That's impossible to tell at this time, but it doesn't appear so
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