In Japan, within one day on the 25th, about 400 kilometers apart, there were successive outbreaks of avian influenza in chicken farms in Fukuoka and Hyogo prefectures. In less than a month, the bird flu epidemic expanded from one area to three areas, showing a trend of accelerating its spread.
Yesterday morning, the Fukuoka Prefecture Government in Kyushu region announced that a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus had been detected in a local chicken farm, and more than 93,000 chickens in the chicken farm were slaughtered.
By the evening, about 400 kilometers away from Fukuoka, the Hyogo Prefecture Government in Kansai region also announced that the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus had also been detected in a chicken farm, and the number of them would be as high as 140,000.
After eight avian influenza cases in Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku region this month, this round of avian influenza epidemic in Japan has expanded to multiple regions for the first time.
At present, the transmission routes of avian influenza in Fukuoka and Hyogo Prefectures are still under investigation. However, after comparing the virus genes, the relevant agencies found that the structure of the avian influenza virus detected in Kagawa Prefecture is almost exactly the same as that detected in the feces of wild migratory birds. Experts predict that a large number of migratory birds will migrate to Japan before the end of the year, and the bird flu epidemic is likely to spread throughout Japan.
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture pointed out that since the beginning of this month, the outbreak of avian influenza has been concentrated so rapidly in a short period of time, which is unprecedented in Japan. The expert group of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture also rarely used an urgent appeal to require that the roads and vehicles around chicken farms, reservoirs and other facilities be thoroughly disinfected in the areas where the epidemic occurred. All poultry and eggs products from the chicken farm around the scene of the accident are prohibited from entering or leaving within a radius of 3 kilometers, and shipments within 10 kilometers.
This round of bird flu in Japan has killed about 1.5 million chickens. The southern part of Kyushu is the main chicken and egg producing area of Japan, not far from Fukuoka Prefecture, which has already had an epidemic. At present, the main production areas are on standby and are nervously preparing for epidemic prevention and control. At present, the market price of chicken and eggs in Japan has not changed significantly. However, once the outbreak of avian influenza epidemic occurs in the main production area, it is likely to lead to large fluctuations in the price of related products.
