Bird flu found among pet chickens in Japan

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 17 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT


A strain of Bird Flu (Avian Flu) has been found in pet chickens in Japan in the southern town of Kokonoe.

Seven of the pets died at a private home. They also found that a duck, which was also a pet, tested positive.

These chickens are different from the farm ones; they are smaller and are usually raised as pets.

They were infected with the H5 virus, in the same category as the H5N1 virus that has spread throughout SE Asia.

The owners of the pets have had to undergo tests to make sure they are not infected.

Although avian flu generally only infects birds, it has spread to people in some cases. 14 people in Vietnam and 6 in Thailand have died of bird flu.

So far, China, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam have had birds with avian flu this year. Pakistan and Taiwan have milder cases of the virus.

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