March 15, 2004

Japan To Implement Tougher Bird-Flu Measures

The Japanese government is poised to approve a series of stricter measures to contain the spread of bird flu, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said.

"Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week called for a plan to strengthen existing measures," Fukuda said at a twice- daily press conference at Koizumi's residence in Tokyo. Some of these changes will require lawmakers to amend laws, he said.

The discovery of bird flu on a farm in Kyoto, western Japan, last month, the nation's third outbreak, sparked calls for tougher rules on the shipment of birds and eggs. The farm operator didn't immediately report a sudden increase in dead chickens, and continued deliveries to food processing plants and other customers.

Haijimu Asada, the chairman of the company running the chicken farm, and his wife committed suicide earlier this month.

The discovery later of two dead crows near the Kyoto farm that tested positive for bird flu added to concern the disease would spread across the country. Crows are a common sight in Tokyo and Japan's other large cities, where they scavenge for food among garbage left out for collection.

Bird flu, which can jump species, has infected 32 people in Vietnam and Thailand resulting in 22 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. No human cases have been reported in Japan and no infections have been recorded from people eating meat or eggs from birds that have contracted the disease.

Japan's government wants to increase penalties for those failing to report possible cases of infectious disease such as bird flu, while providing financial assistance to farms that have been affected by the outbreaks.

Other Asian nations that have reported the disease include South Korea, China, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia. These countries have slaughtered about 100 million birds to prevent new infections.