BERLIN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The lethal strain of H5N1 bird flu was confirmed Friday in a dead wild buzzard found in Berlin, making it the first case of the virus in the German capital, health authorities said.

    The dead bird was found on the terrace of a house in the Marzahn-Hellersdorf district on the eastern edge of the city, Berlin state thus becoming the seventh German region hit by the deadly virus.

    About 4,000 dead birds had been found in Germany since the beginning of the year, the authorities said, adding that all the dead birds had been handed over to relevant departments for medical tests.

    So far, about 200 cases of the bird flu virus have been found in wild birds in several German regions, most of them being in the Baltic Sea region where the first cases were discovered. Enditem