Japan confirms season's 3rd bird flu outbreak

TOKYO, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed at a poultry farm in the central Japanese prefecture of Niigata, local authorities said Tuesday.

The prefectural government said it has confirmed the outbreak at the farm in the city of Tainai, with a total of 630,000 egg-laying chickens to be culled.

Officials said that the Niigata farm reported abnormalities on Monday morning, including an increase in the number of chicken deaths.

A preliminary virus test returned positive results, while a detailed genetic analysis was conducted.

The latest case marks the third bird flu outbreak confirmed at a poultry farm in Japan this season.

The country's first case was confirmed in the town of Shiraoi in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Oct. 22, followed by the second case in the city of Eniwa, also in Hokkaido, on Sunday. Enditem