Japan: 37,000 poultry infected with avian flu destroyed.

(Baonghean.vn) - On Tuesday, December 30th, approximately 37,000 poultry were destroyed by Japanese quarantine authorities after a flock of poultry at a farm in Yamaguchi Prefecture, located southwest of Honshu Island, was found to be infected with an H5 virus strain.

Medical personnel disinfect a farm on Kyushu island on December 29. Photo: AFP/Miyazaki

On Tuesday evening, the farm owner reported to authorities the sudden deaths of 20 poultry on his farm. Immediately, authorities established a 10-kilometer safety zone around the infected farm and issued a ban on transporting poultry out of the area.

In less than a month, three outbreaks of avian influenza have been detected in Japan. On Monday, authorities discovered another outbreak in Miyasaki, in southern Kyushu, and implemented similar safety measures. Approximately 42,000 poultry have been culled. Around mid-December, the first avian influenza outbreak was detected about 100 km from the previous one. This is reportedly the first outbreak detected in Japan since April 2014.

On Tuesday, during a ministerial meeting on the issue, government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga assured, "We will continue to take all necessary measures if we identify other cases of poultry infected with the H5 avian influenza virus." The Japanese government regularly issues warnings to the public about the risks of infection in poultry flocks and transmission to humans, especially after a Chinese national died from avian influenza on Monday in Zhejiang province, China.

Chu Thanh– according to LeMonde, December 30