TOKYO: The number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Japan this season has risen to 54, topping the existing record of 52, logged in the 2020-2021 season, it was learned Tuesday.

The total number of birds destroyed due to this season’s outbreaks is expected to reach around 7.75 million.

On the day, the prefectural government of Fukuoka in southwestern Japan announced that a bird flu outbreak had occurred at an emu farm in the city of Koga.

Highly pathogenic bird flu was also confirmed at an egg-laying hen farm in the city of Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, the same day.

The outbreaks were the 53rd and 54th in the country this season, with about 400 and 9,600 birds to be destroyed at Fukuoka and Chiba, respectively.

With the Chiba case, the number of destroyed egg-laying hens is seen exceeding 6.8 million.

According to industry data, the standard price for medium-size eggs in the Tokyo market averaged 284 yen in December, up 35.2 percent from a year earlier and hitting a peak next to the March 1991 level of 335 yen.

Egg prices usually fall after the turn of the year, but could be affected by continued bird flu outbreaks this year.

JIJI Press