Bibberle unplugged

Japanese authorities are checking if bird flu killed more than 200 chickens at a poultry farm in southwestern Japan, the Agriculture Ministry said today. If confirmed, it would be the second outbreak this month of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which can be fatal to humans. The farm, which has about 50,000 birds, is situated in Hyuga in Miyazaki Prefecture, where 10 days ago the government confirmed an H5N1 outbreak -- Japan's first such case in three years. Miyazaki, on the southernmost main island of Kyushu, is the country's top breeder of chickens. In the latest suspected outbreak, 243 chickens had died on Monday, the Agricultural Ministry and Miyazaki government said. Kyodo news agency said about 570 had died on Monday and Tuesday, but a Miyazaki official would not confirm that figure. A simple preliminary test for H5N1 showed positive for some birds, but more tests were needed for final confirmation. In the earlier outbreak, the government imposed a 10-km (six-miles) quarantine zone around the infected farm, banning shipments of eggs and chickens to areas outside the zone.

H5N1 Japan Miyazaki Hyuga Bird_flu