Japan culls 50,000 chickens after bird flu outbreak

The farm reported rising poultry deaths, with tests confirming bird flu while US and England also reported cases.

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Japanese authorities began culling 50,000 chickens on Sunday after a bird flu outbreak at a farm in northern Iwate Prefecture, marking the 19th case of the season.

The farm reported rising poultry deaths, and tests confirmed the virus as the cause. As a result, the culling operation was initiated, affecting 50,000 birds, and movement restrictions were placed on 170,000 birds within a three-kilometer radius.

Additionally, 3.8 million birds within a 10-kilometer zone have been confined.

This follows similar outbreaks in Iwate and Aichi, where 120,000 and 147,000 birds were culled, respectively. On December 29, an outbreak in Ibaraki led to the culling of 1.08 million birds.

Bird flu outbreaks have not been confined to Japan as the United States and England have also reported cases.

In the US, President Joe Biden has allocated $306 million to boost the country's response to bird flu. The funding will enhance preparedness, monitoring, and research for countermeasures against the H5N1 virus.

In England, multiple bird flu cases have prompted authorities to enforce protective zones and initiate preemptive culling.