Some 53,000 chickens will be culled in Japan's Gunma Prefecture due to the detection of a new outbreak of bird flu, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on Friday.
"The presence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was confirmed today at a farm in Gumma Prefecture. This is the 67th case this season. Fifty-three thousand chickens will be culled. An investigation was carried out due to the increase in the death of birds. Tests turned out positive for avian influenza. Genetic analysis on Friday confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic strain," the ministry said in a statement.
The authorities introduced a quarantine within a 3-kilometer (1.86-mile) radius around the farm and banned the transportation of eggs and chickens beyond a 10-kilometer zone.
Taking into account the latest outbreaks, the number of chickens culled in Japan this season has already exceeded 10 million, which is an all-time high for Japan now. In the season before last, from November 2020 to the end of March 2021, during which the poultry industry suffered the most extensive damage due to bird flu, 9.87 million chickens were culled, and there were 52 outbreaks in 18 prefectures.
Experts explain the outbreak by the fact that migrating birds have returned earlier than usual this year, and infection was spreading fast across regions. Bird flu has caused the price of chicken eggs already high amid inflation and soaring prices for food products to spike to its 29-year peak.
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