HAMBURG: An outbreak of bird flu on farm in the eastern German state of Brandenburg has forced authorities to begin slaughtering about 14,000 turkeys, the state government said on Wednesday, reporting the third outbreak there in recent weeks.

Type H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in a farm in the Uckermark area, the Brandenburg state government said.

A series of outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in Germany and elsewhere in Europe in past months with wild birds suspected to be spreading the disease.

Sweden planned to cull around 1.3 million chickens after bird flu was found on a farm in the country, Sweden's Board of Agriculture said on Jan. 25.

Risk to humans from the disease is considered low, but past outbreaks among farm birds have resulted in extensive slaughtering programmes to contain the spread.