Fifa says bird flu spread may damage World Cup

Germany has been gripped by bird flu panic, with pets ordered to be kept indoors, after the discovery of a dead cat contaminated with the disease. The head of world football also raised the possibility that the World Cup could be cancelled.

The German government ordered pet owners to keep cats indoors and walk dogs only on leads in all areas affected by bird flu yesterday, 24 hours after the discovery of the cat killed by the H5N1 virus.

The measures, which include provisions to shoot cats which stray outside, were drawn up by Germany's animal disease crisis team in a response to a bird flu epidemic that has, so far, hit five of the country's 16 federal states. Concern was heightened on Tuesday after a cat owner on the Baltic Island of Rügen, where more than 100 infected birds have been recovered in the past week, reported that his pet had died.

The animal was later found to have contracted bird flu, probably as a result of eating contaminated birds. It was the European Union's first recorded case of a mammal contracting the disease. The owner underwent medical tests but showed no signs of harbouring the virus.

The government banned cats from venturing outdoors in the coastal states of Mecklenburg-Pommerania and Schleswig-Holstein and the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The Agriculture Ministry said owners who disobeyed the restrictions on pets faced fines and existing laws allowed hunters to shoot cats seen outdoors.

Reinhard Kurth, the president of the Robert Koch Institute, said there was no increased risk to humans.

However, Germany was dealt another blow when the president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, suggested that the World Cup could be cancelled if bird flu began being transmitted between humans. Mr Blatter was asked by Bild newspaper if bird flu could threaten the tournament, to be hosted by Germany in June. He replied: "At the moment, no, but if bird flu developed into something like the plague or cholera, if it's a case of people infecting people, then the government would have to take a decision. We would have to respect that."

The bird flu pet panic has spread to France, where cat owners besieged animal protection societies with urgent questions about the risks. The French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, asked cat owners not to let their pets stray in infected areas. So far, H5N1 in France has been found only in the south-eastern Ain region. Even before the infected cat was found in Germany, the French government had asked the national food safety agency for a study on the risk to domestic pets.

Greece and Hungary have reported more cases of wild birds killed by H5N1. And the first case of bird flu in Switzerland was discovered in a dead duck.