Work begins at a poultry farm in Kawaminami, Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan to bury chickens culled after a highly virulent strain of bird flu was detected in this photo taken by Kyodo December 20, 2016. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS.
Tokyo: The Japanese authorities began the culling of 69,000 chickens in southwestern Japan after discovering dead chickens infected with a highly virulent strain of bird flu in Saga Prefecture.
The Japanese government stated that genetic tests confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus.
Since November, bird flu has been detected in six prefectures in Japan, including the prefecture of Hokkaido and Miyazaki in Southwestern Japan.
In January 2016, the Japanese government started culling around 168,400 chickens after a bird flu outbreak was confirmed in Saga.
According to local news, 200 soldiers are assigned to help eliminate the birds in farms which will restricts the circulation of birds and eggs in neighboring areas.
