Original title: Nearly 10 million poultry have been culled in the current bird flu season in Japan
Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, January 9 (Reporter Qian Zheng) Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported on the 9th that a highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak occurred on a poultry farm in Josato Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. This is the current bird flu epidemic season in Japan. (usually autumn and winter to the following spring) the 56th reported outbreak. Japan has culled about 9.98 million poultry this season, a record high.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported that the farm raised about 930,000 laying hens. On the 8th, the relevant departments of Ibaraki Prefecture received a report from the farm that the number of chicken deaths had increased, and immediately conducted an on-site investigation. On the same day, the result of a simplified test for avian influenza on dead chickens was positive. On the 9th, the results of genetic testing of dead chickens showed that these chickens were infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus.
A farm in Okayama Prefecture reported the first bird flu outbreak in Japan this bird flu season at the end of October 2022. So far, a total of 56 outbreaks have been confirmed across the country, the highest number in the same period in history. The farm where the outbreak occurred this time has begun to cull the chickens raised, bringing the number of poultry culled due to highly pathogenic avian influenza to about 9.98 million in this epidemic season, exceeding the approximately 9.87 million in the epidemic season from 2020 to 2021 , a record high.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported that under the current circumstances, the possibility of Japanese consumers getting sick from eating chicken or eggs infected with bird flu is very small.
The Food Safety Committee of the Cabinet Office explained that the meat and eggs of poultry suspected to be infected with bird flu will not be circulated in the market; the bird flu virus is afraid of heat, and the risk of infection can be avoided by fully heating food before eating.