ID :
48085
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 22:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/48085
The shortlink copeid
Bird flu detected in Aichi, H7 strain found for 1st time in 84 yrs+
NAGOYA, Feb. 27 Kyodo - The H7 bird flu virus has been detected at a quail farm in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture -- the first detection of the strain in Japan since 1925 -- the farm ministry and prefectural government said Friday.
Animal health authorities confirmed that the virus is of attenuated virulence,
the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said, suggesting it is
unlikely the infection will spread further.
It is the first time since February 2007 that bird flu has been detected at a
farm in Japan. At that time, the disease was found at a farm in Okayama
Prefecture following detection of the flu at a Miyazaki Prefecture farm a month
earlier.
It is rare for humans to be infected by the H7 strain, but people who have
contact with infected birds can suffer a disease of the respiratory system and
other illnesses.
Two quails tested positive earlier this month at the same farm during a regular
sampling inspection of three quail farms in Aichi Prefecture by the prefectural
government, and a detailed examination at the National Institute of Animal
Health in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, confirmed the presence of the H7 subtype
virus.
The farm has suspended shipping quails since Wednesday, while the local
authorities are investigating the route of infection.
A total of 320,000 quails at the farm will be culled and its breeding ground
has been sterilized, the prefectural government said.
The farm is located in one of the country's leading production centers for
quail eggs.
The authorities have requested that 65 farms within a 10-kilometer radius of
the farm where the virus was detected refrain from shipping quails and other
poultry as well as their eggs and feed. The farms have about 4.56 million
birds.
Aichi Gov. Masaaki Kanda said during a press conference that humans will not be
infected with the virus by eating the eggs or meat from the birds and called
for a ''calm reaction'' by residents.
The farm ministry has instructed all of Japan's 47 prefectural governments to
make sure they can detect any outbreak of avian influenza at farms under their
jurisdiction by conducting emergency on-the-spot inspections.
==Kyodo
2009-02-27 22:50:20
Animal health authorities confirmed that the virus is of attenuated virulence,
the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said, suggesting it is
unlikely the infection will spread further.
It is the first time since February 2007 that bird flu has been detected at a
farm in Japan. At that time, the disease was found at a farm in Okayama
Prefecture following detection of the flu at a Miyazaki Prefecture farm a month
earlier.
It is rare for humans to be infected by the H7 strain, but people who have
contact with infected birds can suffer a disease of the respiratory system and
other illnesses.
Two quails tested positive earlier this month at the same farm during a regular
sampling inspection of three quail farms in Aichi Prefecture by the prefectural
government, and a detailed examination at the National Institute of Animal
Health in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, confirmed the presence of the H7 subtype
virus.
The farm has suspended shipping quails since Wednesday, while the local
authorities are investigating the route of infection.
A total of 320,000 quails at the farm will be culled and its breeding ground
has been sterilized, the prefectural government said.
The farm is located in one of the country's leading production centers for
quail eggs.
The authorities have requested that 65 farms within a 10-kilometer radius of
the farm where the virus was detected refrain from shipping quails and other
poultry as well as their eggs and feed. The farms have about 4.56 million
birds.
Aichi Gov. Masaaki Kanda said during a press conference that humans will not be
infected with the virus by eating the eggs or meat from the birds and called
for a ''calm reaction'' by residents.
The farm ministry has instructed all of Japan's 47 prefectural governments to
make sure they can detect any outbreak of avian influenza at farms under their
jurisdiction by conducting emergency on-the-spot inspections.
==Kyodo
2009-02-27 22:50:20
