Severe Bird Flu Outbreak In Japan

Tokyo: A record 3 million birds have been culled in Japan in what is presumed one of the worst bird flu outbreaks.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) epidemic has hit poultry in various parts of Japan and neighbouring South Korea, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The strain is also circulating in wild birds in Europe.

“The virus found in Japan is genetically very close to the recent Korean viruses and thus related to viruses in Europe from early 2020, not those currently circulating in Europe,” Madhur Dhingra, a senior animal health officer at the FAO, told Reuters.

“This means that we currently have two distinct H5N8 HPAI epidemics in eastern Asia and Europe,” she said.

In Japan, 10 prefectures (districts) out of 47 have been affected.

All farms in Japan have been ordered to disinfect premises and keep nets around so that wild birds don’t enter.