Japan confirms 1st bird flu outbreak of season, in Hokkaido

Japan confirmed on Thursday the season's first avian influenza outbreak, with authorities identifying around 19,000 birds for culling at a poultry farm on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido and implementing quarantine measures for nearby farms.

After the farm in Atsuma, southern Hokkaido, reported its birds were dying from disease the previous day, a genetic test confirmed they were infected with a highly contagious strain of the virus, the Hokkaido government said.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday instructed government agencies to take swift action to contain the epidemic and ordered them to request business operators to take strict precautionary measures.

Authorities restricted the movement of around 710,000 birds at five poultry farms located within a 10-kilometer radius of the farm in question.