December 11, 2020

Japan hits record cullings as it battles worst bird flu outbreak

Japan's bird flu outbreak worsened as farms in two more prefectures detected the virus, resulting in a record number of poultry culled as the government ordered all chicken farms in the country to be disinfected, Reuters reported.

The highly pathogenic H5 subtype of bird flu has spread to eight of Japan's 47 prefectures, believed to be spread by wild birds migrating from the Europe and Asia.

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said all farms in Japan have been ordered to perform a disinfection and inspect hygiene regimes to ensure nets to keep wild birds out are installed correctly.

2.36 million birds have been culled before the latest outbreaks. The previous record was 1.83 million birds culled in the year beginning April 2010.

The latest cases were confirmed at an an egg-laying farm in Kinokawa city in Wakayama prefecture, plus three broiler farms in Oita prefecture on Kyushu island. More than 130,000 chickens in both prefectures will be culled, bringing the total chickens culled to nearly 2.5 million.

Japan has suspended poultry imports from seven countries, including Germany.

The United States Department of Agriculture said Japan's broiler chicken population amounted to 138 million head in 2019.

- Reuters