The discovery that a cat in Germany has been killed by bird flu has created a significant backlash across the country and raised for the first time the possibility that the football World Cup might be cancelled this summer in the event of an outbreak of the disease.

German authorities have responded to the news with a series of measures, including the order that pets must be kept inside in the areas currently affected by the epidemic.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said, when asked if the World Cup was under threat: "At the moment, no, but if bird flu turned into something like cholera, or the plague, the government would have to make a decision. We would respect that."