Government officials in Japan’s southern prefecture of Miyazaki are alarmed after genetic tests on dead chickens on a farm confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic bird flu virus.
Prefectural officials have culled 42,000 chickens on the farm and set up 10 sterilization points around the facility. This is the second outbreak in the country within the month of December, with the previous being a Dec. 16 confirmed case of the H5N8 virus, also in Miyazaki. Roughly 4,000 chickens were culled during that episode. Miyazaki’s current outbreak has also tested positive for the H5 virus strain.
The poultry farm reported to the prefectural government Sunday that chicken deaths were on the rise. A simple test on the dead chickens found that all of the dead birds tested positive for bird flu.
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