Japanese Gov’t Sends Military to Cull Chickens Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

An outbreak of a severely contagious strain of bird flu has been confirmed in Japanese Niigata and Aomori Prefectures leading to the culling of hundreds of thousands of birds starting Tuesday at the affected farms and emergency measures announced on November 29.

At least 310,000 birds in total will be destroyed, Japanese newspaper Asahi reports on Tuesday. The prefectures’ authorities confirmed the H5N8 subtype strain through genetic testing. 

Relevant cabinet ministers held an emergency meeting on the morning of Novemver 29 to confirm measures to contain the virus.

“In order to prevent the spread of infection, the government will work as one to take all available measures while working resolutely,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is quoted as saying.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued instructions to collect necessary information from the affected areas, to provide the public with accurate information as quickly as possible, and to have relevant ministries swiftly implement necessary steps through close cooperation, the report says.

The Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said at a press conference that emergency measures will be taken.

“We will make every possible effort to stop the virus from spreading,” Japanese news agency Kyodo cites her saying.

The Niigata government requested the deployment of Self-Defense Force personnel to assist with the culling operation.The report says that Self-Defense Forces have already been sent to the affected area.

The last time avian flu infections were detected on poultry farms was in January 2015, when a farm in Saga Prefecture in southern Japan was found to have sick birds.