Bird flu cases in Japan reach record high this season

Bird flu cases in Japan hit 54 this season, a record high after new infections were confirmed in Chiba and Fukuoka prefectures, the farm ministry said Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, the number of outbreaks of avian influenza reached 54 across 23 prefectures in Japan this season, topping the previous record of 52 logged in the 2020-2021 season, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

On the day, an emu farm in Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan reported a bird flu outbreak, with about 430 of the birds being culled.

Meanwhile, at a poultry farm in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, an avian flu case was also confirmed the same day, resulting in the culling of around 10,000 chickens at the location.

This season's first case of bird flu was confirmed in October, with the highly deadly H5N1 strain detected from samples of the infected chickens.

The total number of birds destroyed due to this season's outbreaks is expected to reach roughly 7.75 million.