MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) Miyazaki Prefecture said Saturday that birds found dead at a poultry farm in Takachiho were confirmed infected with a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu virus, the eighth case in the prefecture and 12th in Japan this winter.
The farm raises about 40,000 broiler chickens, and prefectural officials started culling them and another 17,000 chickens at related facilities. A ban on shipping chickens and eggs was imposed for a radius of 10 km from the farm.
Thirty-four birds were found dead at the farm Thursday and 60 on Friday. All 10 sample birds tested positive for bird flu in a preliminary test, and five were found to be infected with the virus in a close examination.
In a related development, the Nagasaki Prefectural Government said Saturday a virulent strain of bird flu was found in a mandarin duck that was found dead Friday at a pond in the city of Nagasaki together with two other ducks.
The National Institute for Environmental Studies was asked to conduct a more extensive test. The highly pathogenic virus was detected in a mandarin duck found dead at the same pond Jan. 31.
There are two poultry firms within 10 km of the pond, but no abnormalities have been found in them so far.