February 27, 2004

Bird Flu Detected In Western Japan

Five chickens on a farm in southwestern Japan have initially tested positive for bird flu, in what could be Japan's fourth outbreak in poultry since December, an official said Friday.

Three dead chickens and two of nine live birds on a farm in Kyoto prefecture (state) that were tested for the virus came up positive in an initial screening at two local health facilities, said Michiko Yoshioka, a prefectural agriculture official.

Follow-up tests were scheduled to confirm those findings, Yoshioka said, but she had no information about when the results would be announced.

The cases were on a poultry farm with about 200,000 chickens in the village of Namba, she said.

Earlier this week, authorities in western Nagano prefecture said they were conducting more elaborate tests to ascertain whether a chicken kept as a pet by an elementary school had the virus. Initial tests gave contradictory results.

Japan has confirmed two outbreaks in other parts of the country. More than 28,000 birds were destroyed in Yamaguchi prefecture (state), on the southwestern tip of the country's main island, after the disease was confirmed there in January.

Avian flu generally infects only birds, although it has spread to people in a few isolated cases. The latest outbreak has killed 15 people in Vietnam and seven in Thailand.

China, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam have been hit by bird flu. Pakistan and Taiwan are reporting a milder strain of the virus.