LOC17:03
14:03 GMT
TOKYO, April 29 (KUNA) -- Japanese health authorities confirmed Tuesday
that four wild swans found near Lake Towada in the northern prefecture of
Akita were infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza. It was
Japan's first outbreak of bird flu since March last year when the virus was
found in a hawk eagle in southwestern Japan.
According to the National Institute of Animal Health, inspectors initially
detected the H5 subtype of bird flu in three of the four swans found along the
lake on April 21. Three were dead and one was dying. The further study
confirmed the virus was the H5N1 strain.
The Akita prefectural government plans to conduct on-site inspections on
Wednesday and Thursday at 15 farms within a radius of 30 kilometers of the
site where the dead swans were found.
South Korea announced earlier this month the outbreak of a virulent bird
flu strain, but it is still unclear whether the virus found in Akita has come
from South Korea. Bird flu, or Avian influenza, is a contagious disease of
animal origin caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less
commonly, pigs. At least 240 people worldwide have died from bird flu since
2003, according to the World Health Organization, but no human deaths have
been reported in South Korea and Japan.(end)
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