Germany detected another two cases of the deadly bird flu on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 61 in the west European nation which saw the arrival of the H5N1 virus only recently.

    H5N1 was detected in a buzzard and a gull found dead in Mecklenburg-Pomerania, the northeastern state of the country, according to the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute.

    Meanwhile, authorities were stepping up the anti-bird flu fightby launching a mass slaughter of poultry and deploying a special army unit on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, where at least 59 cases of the H5N1 virus have been detected among birds.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel traveled to the island on Sunday for a field inspection, with the public being warned not totouch any dead animals as the H5N1 strain of virus can be lethal to human beings.

    A ban was also announced on the sale and transport of poultry within 21 days on the island, which has become a major tourist destination in recent years.