OSAKA -- Chicken was off the menu in many parts of the Kansai region Monday following reports that meat from chickens infected with the bird flu virus had been sold in the area's restaurants and supermarkets.

Many restaurants in the Nakanoshima district of Osaka replaced their regular chicken teriyaki lunch sets with beef, ham or seafood, despite assurances by the Osaka Municipal and Prefectural governments that no one has yet gotten sick from eating the meat of infected birds.

"No chicken, not for a while," said Mika Yoshimura, who runs a small cafe and restaurant near Osaka City Hall. "I don't care what the government says, we're keeping it off the menu indefinitely."