According to the Consumer Protection Agency, there is a strikingly high number of infected swans (archive photo).
© dpa
Once again, numerous cranes, swans, and other water birds have died of bird flu in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Most recently, 14 wild birds tested positive for the virus at the Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory, according to the Berlin Consumer Protection Agency. Confirmation from the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, which is responsible for animal diseases, is still pending.
In Berlin, the consumer protection agency reported that the high number of infected swans was striking. In addition to waterfowl, birds of prey, seagulls, and gray herons were also affected—presumably because they ate dead birds. "The severe winter has exacerbated the infection situation," the administration noted. Waterfowl gathered in large numbers on the few ice-free areas of water. This increases the risk of transmission of the particularly pathogenic virus. Neighborhood groups shared photos of dead swans on the frozen Landwehr Canal.
According to information from the authorities, 41 wild birds have died in Berlin in connection with the outbreak, which has been ongoing since fall 2025. Across Germany, the spread of the highly contagious H5N1 virus variant has reached a new, dramatic dimension. Brandenburg was particularly affected, where, according to official figures, more than 1,000 cranes died in the Linumer Teichgebiet alone.
The authorities advise that sick or dead animals should not be touched under any circumstances, not even individual feathers. Anyone who finds dead or sick cranes, waterfowl, ravens, or birds of prey should report the find to the responsible district veterinary and food inspection authority (in German). The H5N1 subtype, which is currently the most prevalent, has been transmitted to humans in isolated cases in the past through close contact with sick birds, in some cases leading to illness – however, human-to-human transmission has not yet been proven, according to the authorities.