Japan confirms H5N8 strain in third bird flu outbreak in country

TOKYO, Nov. 16 (Reuters) – Japan has confirmed that the highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N8 was detected in a poultry farm during the third outbreak of avian influenza in the country this winter, the ministry of Agriculture.

The outbreak was discovered on Monday at a farm with around 11,000 laying hens in Izumi city, Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

It comes as several outbreaks of severe bird flu in Europe and Asia have been reported to the World Organization for Animal Health in recent days, a sign that the virus is spreading rapidly again. Read more

“The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype NA has been identified and has been confirmed to be the H5N8 subtype,” the ministry said.

The increase in the number of people infected with bird flu around the world this year is becoming a source of concern for epidemiology experts, especially as the world is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

China reported 21 human infections with the H5N6 subtype of avian influenza in 2021 to the World Health Organization, down from just five last year, he said, with six dead and many more seriously ill. Read more

In February, Russia recorded the first case of the H5N8 strain transmitted to humans from birds and reported the case to the WHO. There was no sign at the time of human-to-human transmission. Read more

Japan temporarily suspended exports of chicken meat and eggs from all regions earlier this month after reporting the first outbreak, though the ministry said consumption of these items, if infected, would not presents no risk to humans.

Japan had its worst winter flu season on farms last winter, with nearly 10 million chickens slaughtered and more than a third of the country’s prefectures affected. Read more

Japan has a laying flock of around 181 million hens and a broiler population of 140 million, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Antiviral treatments may be effective against bird flu, but there is no vaccine for humans, according to the UK National Health Service website.

Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa

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