January 12, 2004

Japan Bird Flu Kills 6,000 Chickens

Nearly 6,000 chickens were hit by a bird flu virus detected at a poultry farm in Yamaguchi Prefecture, officials said Monday. This is the first occurrence of bird flu in Japan in 79 years.

The officials said the virus is a strain of the H5 virus, the same category as the H5N1 virus, which triggered an outbreak of bird flu in South Korea last year.

The H5N1 type killed around 21,000 ducks and chickens in South Korea last year.

The officials said it is uncertain whether humans can be infected with the bird flu strain found in Yamaguchi.

Bird flu killed six people in Hong Kong in 1997 and a veterinarian in the Netherlands last year.