TOKYO – Authorities has culled no fewer than 42,000 chickens in south-western Japan as a highly pathogenic strain of H5 avian influenza was confirmed, local government said on Monday.
A news report said that the local officials killed all the chickens at a farm in Miyazaki, one of Japan’s top poultry-producing areas.
The farm had reported on Sunday that increasing numbers of birds were dying, and they later tested positive for avian flu in preliminary tests.
Authorities restricted the movement of chickens within a 3km radius, and banned those within a 10km radius from being shipped outside.
Authorities urged poultry farmers to take thorough disease control measures during a meeting on Monday.
One of the participants was quoted as saying the infected farm was already “taking proper protective measures.’’
On Dec. 16, about 4,000 chickens were killed at a farm in Nobeoka City in Miyazaki Prefecture after a bird flu case was confirmed.
In 2011, about one million chickens
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were culled in the prefecture due to the outbreak of H5 avian influenza in the region. (dpa/NAN)