Japan orders swift response to suspected bird flu at Kyoto farm
About 200,000 chickens face culling if a genetic test confirms infection at a Kameoka farm, with results expected on Thursday morning.
- Japan's Prime Minister has ordered an urgent, coordinated response to a suspected case of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm in Kyoto.
- The suspected outbreak was reported after the farm, located in Kameoka, experienced a rise in chicken deaths.
- Confirmation of the infection is pending a genetic test, with a positive result marking Japan's first poultry farm case of the season.
- If the case is confirmed, the entire flock of approximately 200,000 chickens at the farm will be culled to prevent the virus from spreading.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered urgent, coordinated action on Wednesday (November 11) after a suspected case of highly pathogenic avian influenza emerged at a poultry farm in Kyoto prefecture, western Japan.
The agriculture ministry and other relevant ministries were instructed to work closely together and put comprehensive disease control measures into effect without delay.
Officials were also told to provide poultry farmers with guidance and support on preventive measures, urge them to remain on high alert and ensure the public received accurate information.
"We will do our best to support the prefecture's disease control measures," Hiroo Kotera, state minister of agriculture, told Kyoto Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki during an online meeting.
The suspected infection was announced by Kyoto’s prefectural government on Wednesday.
It said the farm, in Kameoka, had contacted a local livestock hygiene service centre earlier that day to report a rise in chicken deaths.
Confirmation hinges on a genetic test, with results expected on Thursday morning.
A positive result would make this Japan’s first poultry farm case of avian flu this season and lead to the culling of the entire flock of about 200,000 chickens.
At the prefectural government’s response headquarters meeting, Nishiwaki ordered officials to be fully prepared to carry out disease control measures so the virus would not spread to other farms.
He also instructed them to ensure that local residents received accurate information.
"We will make every effort to complete disease control measures as quickly as possible if the case tests positive," Nishiwaki told reporters.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
