Japan has ordered the slaughter of some
112,000 chickens after officials confirmed bird
flu infections at a poultry farm in the south.
DNA tests confirmed the H5 strain of the virus
at a farm in Kumamoto prefecture that kept
56,000 birds, after its owner reported on
Saturday a lot of sudden deaths among his
poultry, the agriculture ministry said in a
statement.
Officials also ordered the culling of another
56,000 birds at a separate farm run by the
same owner after treating it as a location of
possible infections, the ministry said on
Sunday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga held a
meeting with selected ministers, including
Agriculture Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, to
discuss the outbreak.
"The government will take thorough measures
to prevent wider infections," Suga told the
meeting.
It was the first confirmed outbreak of bird flu
in Japan in three years.
The ministry has however been warning
farmers about infection risks, citing the
continued spread of the disease in Asia,
including neighbouring South Korea.
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.
Officials were also setting up areas to disinfect
vehicles travelling on major roads around the
affected farms to prevent the virus from
spreading further.
The government will dispatch a team of
officials and experts to identify the cause of
the latest infections and to assist local
authorities to take necessary measures.
