February 9, 2007

Japan orders disinfection of chicken farms on flu outbreaks

The Agriculture Ministry ordered thousands of chicken farms in western and southern Japan to spray disinfectant following four outbreaks of bird flu that hit the regions earlier this year.

The ministry issued an order to large-sized farms in western and southern Japan to disinfect them by the end of the month, it said in a statement.

A ministry official said that it was not clear how many firms are subject to the order, adding that there were about 4,000 poultry firms that raise more than 1,000 chickens each in the regions. The official refused to be named, citing policy.

The move followed a total four H5N1 outbreaks since January in the south-western prefecture, or state, of Miyazaki and Okayama prefecture in western Japan.