More than 1.5 million chickens will be culled in Japan amid an outbreak of bird flu

More than 1.5 million chickens will be culled in two Japanese prefectures due to an outbreak of bird flu, Kyodo News reported.

An outbreak in Okayama Prefecture has led to the culling of 510,000 chickens. This is the second outbreak in the county since the fall, when 170,000 chickens were culled.

Ibaraki Prefecture will cull 1.04 million chickens. A highly pathogenic bird flu virus has been detected in both counties, according to genetic testing.

Quarantine tests have been imposed on shipments of chickens and eggs within a 3km radius of the farm where the outbreak has been detected, and the transport of chickens and eggs beyond 10km has been banned.

Both Okayama Prefecture and the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido have seen outbreaks of bird flu since the start of the autumn, with a total of 170,000 chickens culled.