Tokyo, Feb 17: Japan was investigating a possible new outbreak of bird flu today after seven chickens were reported to have died on the island of Kyushu. Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei, asked by reporters, whether there was a second outbreak in Japan, said, ''it is still in the stage of investigation”.
Broadcaster NHK reported that initial tests appeared to confirm an outbreak of bird flu affecting about a dozen chickens, of which seven had died. Ministry officials had no further details on the reports, which concerned a farm in Oita prefecture on Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island.
One outbreak of bird flu has been reported so far in Japan, on a farm in the prefecture of Yamaguchi, which is at the southern end of the main island of Honshu, in January. Officials had said this week that Japan could declare tomorrow that the outbreak of bird flu in the country was over, providing there were no new cases.
Bureau Report