More cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza reported in Japan and South Korea

Japan's Tochigi Prefecture has confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm, and SOUTH KOREA has reported an outbreak at a poultry farm 147 kilometers south of Seoul. According to reports from Jiji Press and the Korea Herald, Japan and South Korea continue to battle outbreaks of bird flu.

A recent outbreak of the virus in Japan in Tochigi Prefecture was found in a poultry farm in the city of Haga. Animal HEALTH authorities will cull 77,000 chickens to limit the spread of the disease. The prefectural government also urged farmers within a three-kilometer radius of the farm not to move chickens and eggs. This is the first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Tochigi Prefecture.

In South Korea, animal health authorities have detected H5N8 avian influenza at an egg farm in Chungju, 147 kilometers south of Seoul. A travel ban has been put in place within a 10 km radius of the farm, and the authorities will cull the birds on the farm and in the surrounding areas as a preventive measure.

Both countries have been fighting outbreaks of bird flu since November 2020.