Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Germany considers canceling world cup over avian influenza scare
The head of Germany’s parliamentary committee for agriculture believes the government should consider canceling the World Cup given the outbreak of avian influenza in that country. He also stated that the decision would be for the best considering the global impact of human cases of avian influenza.
Organizers of the 2006 World Cup say they expect it to attract some 3 million football fans to the country. While the World Cup organizing committee has refused to comment on the remarks, the World Health Organization is not completely dismissing them.
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza was detected in Germany last week.