# 1928
This confirmation was pretty much expected, since yesterday they stated these swans tested positive for an H5 virus.
While there are no chicken farms within 10km (6 miles) of where these birds were found, authorities will inspect farms on Wednesday and Thursday at 15 farms within a radius of 30 km (19 miles).
This report from Reuters.
Japan confirms H5N1 bird flu strain in swans
Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:52am EDT
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Tuesday confirmed four swans found last week were infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
It was the first case of bird flu in Japan since March 2007 when the highly virulent H5N1 strain was found in a wild bird in Kumamoto prefecture on Japan's southern Kyushu island.
The swans, three of which had died, were found on the shores of Lake Towada in northern Akita prefecture on April 21, the prefectural government said.
Inspectors had initially detected the H5 subtype of bird flu in the dead swans and conducted further tests, the local government said on Monday.
Japan has been stepping up checks of birds after a series of bird flu outbreaks in South Korea over the past month.
