#11,912
The arrival of migratory birds in Japan is celebrated each winter, with some of the world’s largest over-wintering sites for waterfowl spread across that island nation. Japan is the home to 90% of the overwintering Hooded Cranes of the world, and they are regarded (and often referred to as) `National Treasures’.
In 2010-11 we saw a near panic among officials when 5 Hooded Cranes Test Positive For H5N1 in Izumi, in the spring of 2014 - just a couple of months after emerging in South Korea - the H5N8 virus arrived in Japan for the first time, carried in by migratory birds.
During the fall and winter of 2014-15, Japan's poultry industry was hit repeatedly by HPAI H5N8, at about the same time the virus was encroaching on Europe and spreading in North America (see Japan: HPAI H5 Confirmed In Saga Prefecture).
Except for scattered reports from South Korea and China - to everyone's surprise (see PNAS: The Enigma Of Disappearing HPAI H5 In North American Migratory Waterfowl) - H5N8 was pretty much a `no show' last winter.
This year, however, H5N8 is back with a vengeance in Europe. And so other areas (including North America & Japan) have to be alert for its return as well.
When you add in the detection of HPAI H5N6 in bird feces last week in Korea (a migratory bird stop off point for many species headed for Japan) the stakes get even higher.Today Japanese media is carrying multiple reports of dead birds collected in two Japanese Prefectures (Akita and Hokkaido) that have reportedly tested positive in the field (subtype not identified), that are being further examined as to subtype and pathogenicity.
It may take several days before we get a definitive answer.
The first (translated) report concerns a dead whooping swan found on the island of Hokkaido.
Bird flu-positive birds 1 birds in Hokkaido, to the defined inspectionThe second (translated) report comes from Akita City in Akita Prefecture, where a black swan has died at the Akita Omoriyama Zoo.
2016/11/15 9:09
The Ministry of the Environment to up to 15 days, found the whooper swan 1 birds of wild birds to 7 days in Hokkaido Nakashibetsu is dead, the results of genetic testing, announced that came out positive for bird flu. Whether highly pathogenic, to implement the established inspection in Hokkaido.
Expected to take about one week before the test results are known. The Ministry of the Environment, has been to strengthen the wild birds of monitoring from the dead is found point in the radius of 10 kilometers.
Whooper the duck family of migratory birds. That flying from Russia to Hokkaido and Tohoku for wintering. 〔Joint〕
Positive reaction of the bird flu from dead black swan
At 22:40 on November 15 2016
Examination of the carcass of the black swan that had been bred in Omoriyama Zoo of Akita City, it was found that the positive reaction of the bird flu virus came out.
According to the Akita Prefecture, 15 days afternoon Omoriyama Zoo of Akita City, for dead black swan one bird that had been bred, was subjected to a simple test, it came out positive reaction of the type A avian influenza virus.
Dead black swan, but it had been kept in the swamp of the park, because of the swamp of construction work, from 19 days last month had been reared in the facility. Dead black swan with other black swan 2 birds and whooper swan 1 birds were together in a facility, the results of the simple test, were negative.
In Akita Prefecture, to strengthen the monitoring of wild birds of around 10 km distance of the zoo, in the Hokkaido University, will conduct a detailed inspection of the black swan dead. In the zoo, along with the take infection prevention measures to other birds, it is to be Kyuen to detailed inspection results.
The most obvious suspects are H5N1, H5N8, or possibly H5N6. In any event, the bird flu season continues which only just sparked to life a couple of weeks ago, continues to ramp up around the globe.
