Japan confirmed Tuesday its second bird flu outbreak in the southwest Oita Prefecture.
The case proved to be the H5 strain virus, said the Ministry ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Further investigation is under way to determine whether it is the H5N1 strain virus that has swept through Asian countries.
After receiving a report on Monday about seven dead chickens raised as pets by a local household, the National Institute of Animal Health conducted examinations and finally confirmed the outbreak. Another six chickens and a duck have been slaughtered asa precautions measure.
The Local government has set an off limits within a radius of 30 kilometers around the infected site.
There has been no report that human being had been infected, said the ministry.
The latest outbreak was preceded by another one in the Yamaguchi Prefecture on Jan. 12. About 34,000 chickens in a farm were slaughtered in that case.