Japanese authorities have initiated the culling of approximately 50,000 chickens on Sunday, Jan 06, following the confirmation of a bird flu outbreak at a farm in the northern Iwate region. This incident marks the 19th outbreak of the season, as reported by the Agriculture Ministry of Japan. The outbreak was confirmed after the farm reported a rise in poultry deaths, leading to immediate testing that identified bird flu as the cause.
In response to the outbreak, Iwate’s regional government has restricted the movement of 170,000 birds within a three-kilometre radius of the affected farm. Additionally, 3.8 million birds in a 10-kilometre zone are under movement restrictions to prevent further spread of the virus.
This latest incident follows previous outbreaks in Iwate and Aichi prefectures, where 120,000 and 147,000 birds were culled respectively on January 2. Earlier, on December 29, an outbreak in Ibaraki resulted in the culling of 1.08 million birds, bringing the total number of culled birds this season to around 1.7 million across 11 prefectures.
Japan has been grappling with recurring bird flu outbreaks, prompting mass culling and strict movement bans to control the virus’s spread. Authorities are intensifying monitoring efforts as they navigate these challenges.