SPUTNIK, Tokyo, January 10-According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF), bird flu broke out again in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, and about 100,000 chickens began to be culled.

There have been suspected cases before. Employees of a poultry farm producing eggs in Chuannan City found many dead layer hens. Genetic analysis confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza.

Quarantine was imposed on the transport of chickens and eggs within 3 km of the farm where the lesion was found, and the transport of chickens and eggs beyond 10 km was prohibited.

Experts attribute this to the earlier-than-usual arrival of migratory birds, which began at the end of September, and the spread of the virus. The bird flu epidemic has become one of the reasons why egg prices in Japan soared to a 29-year high.

According to data from the MAFF, the number of poultry culled in Japan has exceeded 10 million in this bird flu epidemic season. From November 2020 to the end of March 2021, 9.87 million chickens were culled, and 52 outbreaks occurred in 18 counties.