A STONE marten on the German island of Ruegen has been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, the country's national veterinary laboratory said today.
A member of the weasel family, it is the first animal of this species to be reported infected with the virus, which has also affected three cats on the same Baltic island.
The cats are believed to have contracted the disease from eating the wild birds which brought the deadly H5N1 to Germany in mid-February.
The Friedrich Loeffler Institute said the infected stone marten was found on the same part of Ruegen as the cats.
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