Italy reports outbreak of H5N8 bird flu in wild duck: OIE

PARIS (Reuters) - Italy reported a case of the highly contagious H5N8 bird flu virus in a wild duck in the northern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Thursday, citing a report from the Italian ministry of health. The infected wild duck was found dead close to a natural reserve in Grado, the report says. The H5N8 strain, which is deadly for poultry but has not been found in humans, has spread across Europe and the Middle East since late last year, leading to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of poultry and the confinement of flocks indoors. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by Gus Trompiz)