25.01.2011

Avian influenza H5N1 strain has been detected at two farms in Miyazaki prefecture, Japan. 420,000 chickens are to be slaughtered.

The two farms are separated 8.5km from each other.

The outbreaks in Miyazaki Prefecture follow one in November at a poultry farm in Shimane Prefecture and come amid a spread of avian influenza among wild birds across Japan.

Still, Japan is not the only country in the region suffering from the scourge of the poultry industry. According to South Korea’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 68 suspected cases of avian influenza were reported in the country between Dec. 29 last year and Jan. 21, some 30 of which have been determined as H5N1.