Via CIDRAP, a report by Lisa Schnirring: Three Asian countries battle H5N1 outbreaks. Excerpt:
Animal health officials in Japan, South Korea, and Myanmar reported fresh outbreaks of the H5N1 avian influenza in poultry, according to media reports and reports to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The virus hit two more farms in Japan's Miyazaki prefecture, pushing the number of recent poultry farm outbreaks in the prefecture to five, Kyodo News reported yesterday. Miyazaki 's latest outbreaks occurred near the towns of Kawaminami and Nobeoka and prompted the culling of 96,600 chickens.
In response to the recent outbreaks in wild birds and poultry, the first since April 2009, Japan's agriculture ministry on Jan 29 held an emergency meeting for prefectural officials, according to the Kyodo report. Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano told officials that the virus is a threat to local economies, and he urged them to do more to make sure farms are complying with biosecurity rules.
The H5N1 outbreaks have recently led to cancellations of bird-related events at least 28 facilities such as zoos and aquariums in Japan, the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported today. Authorities cancelled a marathon that was scheduled to be run through a wintering area for migratory cranes and in some instances have banned the feeding of swans and other birds.
