1.5 mln chickens to be killed in Japan due to bird flu outbreak

Reports by Japanese media on Friday stated that more than 1.5 million chickens will be killed in the prefectures of Okayama and Ibaraki as a result of the bird flu outbreak. 

510,000 chickens will be culled in Okayama alongside 1.04 million in Ibaraki after a genetic analysis found a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza in both areas, which led to the enforcement of quarantine for the transportation of both chickens and their eggs within a radius of 3 kilometers.

The export of chickens and eggs outside the 10-kilometer zone was prohibited. Japan has already recorded bird flu outbreaks in the prefectures, additionally Kagawa and the island of Hokkaido.

Over the past month, a total of 1.89 million chickens have been slaughtered, similar to the number recorded last year, as from fall 2020 to spring 2021, Japan witnessed the largest avian influenza outbreak in its history.

Highly contagious, the bird flu virus can cause deaths among birds due to the presence of influenza. More than a third of prefectures have been impacted, and approximately 10 million chickens have been killed in more than 50 farms.

Human infections of zoonotic, or animal-borne, influenzas are "primarily acquired through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, but do not result in efficient transmission of these viruses between people", according to the World Health Organization.