January 17, 2006

Japan to cull 770,000 fowls after bird flu discovery

Japan will cull another 770,000 birds after the bird flu virus was detected at a farm in northern Japan, authorities said Monday.

A virus of the H5 strain was detected among chickens at Moriya farm in Ibaraki prefecture, about 65 miles north of Tokyo, authorities said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands of birds have already been destroyed at dozens of other Ibaraki farms over the past few months following outbreaks of the H5N2 virus, which is less deadly than the H5N1 strain that has killed at least 79 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003.

Officials would not know whether the virus is the H5N1 strain until further tests are conducted. Most outbreaks in Japan have been of the H5N2 strain.