Japan to cull 7,000 chickens after new bird flu outbreak confirmed in Aomori

Tokyo: An avian flu outbreak has been registered in the northern Japanese prefecture of Aomori, with 7,000 birds slated for extermination, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.

According to the prefecture's authorities, a poultry farm confirmed finding several dead birds on Friday. Genetic analysis showed the presence of the highly pathogenic N5 strain.

There are now restrictions in place on transporting chickens and eggs within a three-kilometer (1.8-mile) area surrounding the farm as well as on exporting chickens and eggs outside of the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius.

Aomori has become the eighth Japanese prefecture with a confirmed bird flu outbreak this season.

The avian influenza outbreak in the fall 2020 to spring 2021 was the largest in the history of Japan. The virus affected more than a third of prefectures, about 10 million chickens were culled in more than 50 farms.