(Update) Japan's 1st Bird Flu Case at Farm This Season Confirmed

   Sapporo/Tokyo, Oct. 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan's first case this season of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm has been confirmed in the town of Atsuma in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, the prefectural government said Thursday.
   It is the earliest bird flu case confirmed at a domestic poultry farm for any infection season in and after fiscal 2003.
   The prefectural government plans to cull about 19,000 chickens grown at the farm in Atsuma. It banned the transport of about 710,000 chickens raised at five farms within 10 kilometers of the affected facility.
   The Atsuma farm reported to a local livestock hygiene center Wednesday afternoon that many chickens there were dying, according to the Hokkaido government. A genetic test was conducted after a rapid test showed a positive result for avian flu later Wednesday.
   At a ministerial meeting held at the prime minister's office in Tokyo Thursday morning in response to the bird flu case, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi instructed participants to take every possible measure to prevent the avian disease from spreading.

(2024/10/17-13:53)

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