April 16, 2008

Japan confirms third bird flu outbreak
 

An outbreak of H5N1 bird flu has occurred in the western prefecture of Okayama, according to the Japanese agriculture ministry on Wednesday.

This is the third bird flu outbreak so far, and there is also a suspected bird flu case after 23 birds died at a poultry farm in southwestern prefecture Miyazaki, which is the site of two earlier H5N1 outbreaks and Japan's main poultry producing region.

The agriculture ministry would support local authorities if they were to require help, according to agriculture minister Matsuoka Toshikatsu.

There have been no reported cases of human infection in Japan to date.