Japan Reports Season's 1st Bird Flu Case, Earliest Ever

Sapporo/Tokyo, Oct. 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan confirmed this season's first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm Thursday, the earliest-ever outbreak at a farm in a bird flu season in the country.

The case was confirmed in the town of Atsuma in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. As more bird flu cases are expected to occur, concerns are mounting over a further rise in egg prices.

"The country is in a situation where bird flu outbreaks could happen anywhere," farm minister Yasuhiro Ozato said at a task force meeting held at the ministry in Tokyo.

The Hokkaido government plans to cull about 19,000 chickens for meat raised at the farm in Atsuma. It banned the transport of about 710,000 chickens at five farms within 10 kilometers of the affected facility.

In Hokkaido, a highly pathogenic bird flu virus was detected in a peregrine falcon carcass collected Sept. 30.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]