TOKYO, (Japan) : More than 57,000 chickens were culled in Japan's Chiba Prefecture due to highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, in what is the 11th outbreak this season, reported Sputnik.
"Due to the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in the city of Tomisato, the elimination of 57,486 chickens has been fully completed," the prefecture's administration said today (May 2).
Combined with the previous 10 outbreaks since November last year, this brought the total number of chickens culled in Japan due to bird flu to 1.07 billion, Sputnik has estimated.
If the bird flu virus is found, a quarantine is introduced on transportation of chickens and eggs in the radius of 3 kilometres (1.86 miles) around the farm where outbreaks of the disease have been detected, and the export of chickens and eggs outside the 10-kilometre zone is prohibited.
Last season in Japan, 84 cases of bird flu were registered, resulting in the culling of 17.71 million birds, leading to a shortage and a sharp rise in egg prices in the country. — BERNAMA
