Japanese authorities have started culling about 50,000 chickens on Sunday (Jan 5) following a bird flu outbreak at a farm.

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The outbreak happened in the northern Iwate region and marks the 19th incident of the season, according to the Agriculture Ministry of Japan.

The recent incident came to light after the farm reported increasing deaths of fowl, after which tests were conducted that confirmed on Sunday (Jan 5) the cause to be bird flu.

Also read | United States reports first severe case of bird flu in human, says CDC

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The news has prompted authorities to begin culling 50,000 chickens, the regional government of Iwate said. Iwate has also imposed a ban on the movements of 170,000 birds from two other nearby farms that fall under a three-kilometre (1.86-mile) radius.

Apart from this, some 3.8 million birds that are kept within a 10-kilometre area are also to stay within the zone for now.

On Thursday (Jan 2), another farm in the Iwate with 120,000 birds and a company in the central Aichi region with 147,000 birds were affected by the virus and started killing the birds.

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On December 29, an outbreak occurred at a farm in eastern Ibaraki, which led to the killing of 1.08 million birds kept there.

Also read | Bird flu outbreak in California: CDC identifies mutations in first severe human infection in US

Bird flu outbreak in US and England

Apart from Japan, bird flu outbreaks have also been reported in the United States and England. 

US President Joe Biden has announced an allocation of $306 million to boost the country’s response to bird flu amid the ongoing spread of the virus. The funding will help in improving preparedness, monitoring programmes, and research for developing countermeasures against the H5N1 virus.

Multiple bird flu cases have also been detected across England, prompting enforcement of protective zones and preemptive culling.

(With inputs from agencies)