Number of chickens culled in Japan soars to 1.7m amid bird flu outbreak
Another 50,000 birds to be culled in latest outbreak in northern Iwate region
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Your support makes all the difference.Japanese authorities have begun culling another 50,000 chickens following the confirmation of a bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm in the northern Iwate region.
This marks the 19th outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country this season, according to the agriculture ministry.
In all, about 1.7 million birds have been culled since the start of the season in 11 prefectures, the ministry was reported by the news agency Jiji Press as saying in December.
The latest outbreak was confirmed on Sunday after the farm reported a surge in bird deaths. Genetic tests identified the virus as the cause, prompting immediate containment measures, AFP reported.
Mr Hiroshi Yoshida, an official in the regional Iwate government, announced that movement restrictions had been imposed on 170,000 birds across two nearby farms within a 3km radius of the affected site.
Additionally, a 10km surveillance zone had been established, restricting the transport of almost 3.8 million birds in the vicinity.
Last Thursday, separate farms in Iwate and the central Aichi region culled 120,000 and 147,000 birds respectively after similar infections were confirmed. The largest culling this season occurred in December at a farm in Ibaraki prefecture, where over 1.1 million birds were killed to curb the spread of the virus.
In November, around 2,500 chickens were culled after an outbreak of the virus was reported on a farm in Gyoda city’s Saitama prefecture.
The environment ministry raised the bird flu alert to its highest level in October following detections in wild birds in Hokkaido.
"While bird flu rarely affects humans without close contact with infected birds, we urge the public to avoid touching bird carcasses and to report any sightings to local authorities," the ministry stated.
Authorities have pledged to intensify monitoring and containment efforts as they navigate the ongoing challenge of preventing the virus from spreading further.
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