Poultry farmers in Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures are on high alert following an outbreak of avian flu at two farms in the neighboring town of Taragi, Kumamoto Prefecture, over the weekend that forced the prefecture to cull 112,000 birds.

After a massive avian flu outbreak in the prefectures three years ago, farmers took steps to prevent another epidemic but it remains to be seen if they will succeed. "We hope the situation will not be as bad as the last time," one farmer said.

In January 2011, avian flu struck a poultry farm in Miyazaki Prefecture, then quickly spread to other regions in the prefecture, as well as to neighboring Kagoshima Prefecture. In Miyazaki Prefecture alone, more than 1 million birds at 13 farms were slaughtered that year.