Japan Slaughters 112,000 Chickens After Bird Flu Outbreak

Officials said that Japan has finished slaughtering 112,000 chickens after confirming its first bird flu infections for three years, with authorities stepping up efforts to swiftly contain the latest outbreak.

Workers on Sunday started culling 56,000 chickens kept at a poultry farm in Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, where DNA tests confirmed the H5 strain of the virus after owners reported sudden deaths in the flock on Saturday, a Kumamoto prefectural government official said.

Bird Flu Outbreak in Japan
Confirmations of outbreak of Bird-flu infections by officials at a poultry farm in the south resulted in the slaughter of some 112,000 chickens in Japan.

Another 56,000 birds were slaughtered at a separate farm run by the same owner after it was identified as a location of possible infections, the official said.

"We finished the slaughtering operation late Monday and are now preventing the virus from spreading to other areas," the official said, adding that no further infections had been reported by Tuesday morning.

It was the first confirmed outbreak of bird flu in Japan in three years. Scientists say there have been no cases of the disease being contracted by people who have eaten poultry or eggs.

Pandemics Could be Prevented by Insights into How a Bird Flu Virus Spreads
Despite the fact that the virus cannot spread easily between people, the H5N1 bird flu virus has infected and killed hundreds of people.

In Tokyo, agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was also quoted by Jiji Press as saying: "We will do our best to contain (the outbreak) as quickly as possible."

The ministry has been warning farmers about infection risks, citing the continued spread of the disease in Asia, including in neighbouring South Korea.

H5N1 Bird Flu Needs 5 Mutations to Spread Among Humans
Researchers from the Netherlands have found out that just five favorable mutations are enough to make H5N1 bird flu virus spread among humans through coughing or sneezing, like regular flu viruses.

Local authorities on Saturday banned movement of chickens from the two affected farms as well as other farms in their vicinities.

Authorities were sanitising areas around the two farms and testing birds at other area farms.

Three More Bird Flu Cases in Humans Reported in China
Chinese health authorities said on Saturday that three more people were confirmed to be infected with H7N9 bird flu in three provinces.

Officials were also setting up areas to disinfect vehicles travelling on major roads around the affected farms to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Source-AFP