Japan Confirms First Poultry Bird Flu Outbreak of the Season: About 200,000 Hens at a Farm in Kameoka, Kyoto to Be Culled
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on November 12 that genetic testing had confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, and Kyoto Prefecture confirmed the virus was the H5 type. It is the first confirmed highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm in Japan this season.
The farm keeps about 200,000 laying hens. On the morning of November 11, the farm reported an increase in dead birds to the prefecture, and simple tests on 10 birds, including dead ones, all came back positive. Kyoto Prefecture began culling all of the farm's hens on November 12, and disinfection and other control work is expected to take about a week.
Under the control measures, an area within a 3-kilometre radius of the farm was designated a movement-restriction zone and the area between 3 and 10 kilometres a shipment-restriction zone; seven other poultry farms within 10 kilometres, keeping about 300,000 birds in total, are also subject to movement and shipment restrictions. The agriculture ministry convened an emergency disease-control headquarters meeting, and Agriculture Minister Arata Takebe called for thorough measures to prevent outbreaks and stop the spread. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a ministerial meeting that the government would ensure a complete response.
Earlier this season, the highly pathogenic virus had been found in wild bird carcasses in Otofuke, Hokkaido and Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, but this is the first confirmed case at a poultry farm. The autumn-to-spring period is Japan's bird flu season each year.
Egg prices form part of the backdrop. A ministry survey conducted from October 19 to 21 put the national average price of a pack of 10 eggs at 312 yen, the highest since the survey began in 2003, and with year-end demand season approaching, the outbreak's effect on egg supply is being watched.
(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan)
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：蛋鸡养殖场内的笼养蛋鸡（资料图，非涉事农场）。照片 CC BY-SA 3.0，作者 Maqi，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Laying hens in cages at an egg farm (file photo, not the affected farm). CC BY-SA 3.0, by Maqi, via Wikimedia Commons.
