Gerrmany said today further tests had confirmed preliminary findings that two dead swans found on a Baltic Sea beach were infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.
Reinhard Kurth, head of the Robert Koch Institute, said there was no longer any doubt that the two dead swans found recently on the Baltic island of Ruegen had been infected.
The findings confirmed a preliminary test carried out yesterday.
"Unfortunately it has been confirmed that the swans were infected with H5N1 from Asia," Dr Kurth German television. "We have no doubts whatsoever anymore."
Austria confirmed yesterday it had detected the H5N1 virus in dead birds, following its recent confirmation in birds in Italy and Greece.
Romanian authorities also confirmed today suspected new cases of bird flu have been found in fowl near the Bulgarian border.
Bird flu has been discovered in 31 villages across the country since the virus was first detected in October in the Danube delta, Europe's largest wetlands and a major migratory route for wild birds. Romania has not reported any human cases.
Meanwhile, Sweden has ordered farmers to keep chickens and turkeys indoors after bird flu was found on a German island in the Baltic Sea, the Board of Agriculture said.
In a statement released last night, the Swedish board said it would reimpose restrictions that were issued in the autumn. The Swedish authorities have said the H5N1 strain of bird flu could reach their country in the spring, when migratory birds return.
The deadly strain of bird flu has killed 91 people in Asia and the Middle East and forced millions of poultry to be culled.