Tokyo, Dec. 7 (Sputnik) -- More than 4 million chickens have been culled for bird flu in Japan since the start of the year, Kyodo News reported, citing the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry information.

Because of the critical situation, the ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries set up an operational command to develop measures to reduce the spread of the disease.

The first avian influenza cases were identified in October, and since then there have been 28 outbreaks in 16 of Japan's 47 prefectures. Three more suspected cases of avian influenza were reported on Sunday night. More than four million chickens were killed. The disease is spreading faster than last season's record rate, with 9.87 million chickens killed between November 2020 and the end of March 2021. There are 52 outbreaks in 18 counties.