SAPPORO/TOKYO: Japan confirmed this season’s first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm Thursday, the earliest-ever outbreak at a farm in a bird flu season in the country.
The case was confirmed in the town of Atsuma in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. As more bird flu cases are expected to occur, concerns are mounting over a further rise in egg prices.
“The country is in a situation where bird flu outbreaks could happen anywhere,” farm minister Yasuhiro Ozato said at a task force meeting held at the ministry in Tokyo.
The Hokkaido government plans to cull about 19,000 chickens for meat raised at the farm in Atsuma.
It banned the transport of about 710,000 chickens at five farms within 10 kilometers of the affected facility.
In Hokkaido, a highly pathogenic bird flu virus was detected in a peregrine falcon carcass collected Sept. 30.
“The initial response is important,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo. “The government will work as one to respond promptly.”
The previous earliest bird flu case at a poultry farm was confirmed Oct. 28, 2022. In that season, a record 17.71 million chickens were culled, leading to a surge in egg prices.
According to egg seller JA.Z-Tamago Co., a unit of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, the standard wholesale price of medium-size eggs in April and May 2023 reached 350 yen per kilogram, hitting the highest level at least since 1954, when existing records began.
This season, the first confirmed case occurred 11 days earlier than in 2022.
As of Thursday, the standard wholesale price of eggs stood at 280 yen, higher than usual due chiefly to sluggish production caused by this summer’s heat waves and a rise in demand for use at restaurants.
At a prefectural task force meeting in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, on Thursday, Naomichi Suzuki, governor of the prefecture, vowed to take necessary quarantine measures quickly.
JIJI Press