# 5249
Both Japan and South Korea have seen a return of bird flu this winter after an absence of nearly 3 years. Both countries have reported multiple detections in wild birds and commercial poultry over the past 60 days.
For the past month, the spotlight has been primarily on South Korea, as FMD and bird flu have spread widely, and millions of chickens, pigs, and cattle have been culled (see Korea: H5N1 & FMD Outbreaks Continue) as a result.
In late November a poultry farm was hit in Yasugi city, Shimane prefecture (see Japan: Bird Flu Investigation At Poultry Farm).
Since then, there have been scattered reports of wild birds with the virus – primarily at the national wildlife reserve in Izumi City - but no other poultry operations have been affected.
Yesterday it was announced that a second Japanese poultry farm has tested positive for the virus. This time, it is in Miyazaki City, on the south eastern coast of Japan, roughly 100 Kilometers from Izumi City, and several hundred kilometers removed from the Yasugi city poultry farm infected earlier.
The details on this latest outbreak come from Japan Today:
6 dead chickens confirmed with highly pathogenic flu virus
Saturday 22nd January, 04:02 AM JST
MIYAZAKI —
Six chickens have been confirmed infected with a highly pathogenic avian flu virus at a poultry farm in Miyazaki City where dozens of birds were found dead, the Miyazaki prefectural government said Saturday, prompting the central government to convene a task force meeting.
Culling of more than 10,000 birds has begun, and 46 farms within a 10 kilometer radius are prohibited from moving birds or eggs until they can be tested.
Miyazaki Prefecture is a major agricultural region for Japan, and is just recovering from the economic impact of an FMD outbreak last summer.
While a setback for Japan, in comparison, South Korea has reported bird flu at more than 30 poultry farms over the past 3 weeks.
Japan and Korea are part of the great East Asian - Australasian Flyway. Both countries are the winter home for many species of migrating birds, many of which spend their summers in Siberia, China, and Mongolia.
While it is strongly suspected that the H5N1 virus has returned by way of migratory birds, options for controlling bird flu in wild birds are severely limited (see Japan’s Bird Flu Dilemma.)
Culling – the standard response when poultry are infected - is neither feasible or desirable for birds in the wild. Complicating matters, some of these birds are endangered, or considered national treasures.
This year’s resurgence of the H5N1 virus in Japan and Korea after a three year absence serves as a sober reminder that as long as the virus remains endemic in wild birds, the bird flu threat remains.
For now, avian influenza remains primarily a threat to birds, and the world’s poultry industry, as the virus remains poorly adapted to human physiology.
The concern, of course, is that over time that may change. And so the world remains at Pre-pandemic Phase III on the H5N1 virus, and we continue to watch for any signs that the virus is adapting to humans.
