14.11.2014

A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza has been found in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The H5N8 subtype was detected from two samples of droppings of migratory Bewick’s swans that were collected Nov. 3. The H5N8 subtype is the same virus strain as the avian influenza that broke out at a poultry farm in Kumamoto Prefecture in April. Chickens at a farm in Yasugi were infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 subtype in November 2010.