Japan culls 42,000 chickens after fresh bird flu outbreak

The southwestern Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki on Monday culled about 42,000 chickens at a poultry farm after officials detected the H5 bird flu virus.
The Miyazaki prefectural government sent 200 workers to the farm in Miyazaki city, some 900 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, to cull and dispose all the chickens as part of efforts to stop the spread of the outbreak.
Earlier in the day, the prefectural government confirmed that five dead chickens at the farm carried the H5 type of bird flu virus.
Authorities conducted genetic analysis after 30 birds were found dead at the farm on Sunday. It is the second case of bird flu, or Avian influenza, in Japan less than a month, following the outbreak in mid-December at a chicken farm located 100 kilometers away from the site, which resulted in the slaughter of some 4,000 chickens.
The officials banned the movement of 145,000 chickens and eggs at five farms within a 3-km radius of the affected farm, while asking 54 farms within a 10-km radius not to ship their birds and eggs beyond the zone. The local government set up 10 disinfection stations in nearby areas to keep passing vehicles from spreading the virus.
Bird flu is a contagious disease of animal origin caused by viruses that normally infect only birds.