Dozens of chickens that started dying two weeks ago at a poultry farm in Okayama Prefecture were killed by the H5N1 strain of bird flu, agriculture officials confirmed Wednesday, fueling concerns about the future of the poultry industry.
The outbreak in Okayama was Japan's third this year involving the H5N1 strain.
Two earlier outbreaks in Miyazaki Prefecture prompted the slaughter of thousands of chickens, and officials are still trying to determine whether another Miyazaki outbreak involved H5N1.
Authorities began slaughtering chickens at the Okayama farm as soon as the bird flu virus there was confirmed Tuesday as being from the H5 family, ministry official Yasushi Yamaguchi said.
The farm has already been quarantined, and poultry farmers within a 10-km radius were told not to transport poultry or eggs out of the area.
The H5N1 virus has prompted the slaughter of millions of birds across Asia since late 2003, and caused the deaths of at least 163 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
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