Japan's bird flu outbreak worsens, govt orders disinfection of poultry farms

Quarantine workers in protective suits prepare for disinfection work at a poultry farm in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo on Dec 7, 2020 - Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's bird flu outbreak worsened with two more prefectures reporting poultry deaths and exclusion orders in place on Thursday as the government ordered the disinfection of all poultry farms in the country.

Highly pathogenic bird flu, most likely brought by migrating birds from the Asian/European continent, has spread to 8 of Japan's 47 prefectures.