The Japan's first confirmed outbreak of bird flu in 79 years is thought to be coming to an end as no new infections have been reported since those confirmed in Atocho, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Jan. 12.
While the virus continues to spread throughout East Asia, problems remain in Japan, despite the positive results of the government's rapid initial response.
A rapid response is seen as the best way to stop the spread of avian influenza, or bird flu. With that in mind, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has issued an epidemic response manual, which contains guidelines for what to do when a case of bird flu is discovered.
As per the manual's guidelines, all of the chickens at Win Win Farm--the infected farm in the prefecture--were destroyed. In addition, the movement of birds and eggs from other farms in the area was banned.
'Without this manual, we likely would have had to discuss with the government what to do following the discovery of the outbreak,' a prefectural official said.
By disposing of all the birds, the farm was able to stem the spread of the virus and curb the risk of transmission to humans.
'Because the manual contains very strict guidelines, the ministry believed it would be able to stem the spread of the virus. The containment in Yamaguchi Prefecture likely will become a model for future cases,' Prof. Hiroshi Kida of Hokkaido University said.
However, some problems remain. It took about two weeks to confirm bird flu after chickens began to die at the farm.
'It's important to be aware that it's not only a chicken problem--there is a possibility that humans could become infected as well,' said Nobuhiko Okabe, head of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
'If we had to destroy hundreds of thousands of chickens, I don't think the local government could've taken care of everything on its own,' prefectural officials said.
Japanese farmers demand compensation
There have been complications over the compensation of farmers in the infected area who were affected by the restrictions placed on the movement of their chicken eggs and other products.
Within the area, about 900,000 eggs per day could not be shipped, causing the egg farmers to complain to the local government.
While the farm that suffered from infected chickens received subsidies, there currently is no such system for neighboring farms that are affected.
'We hadn't considered eggs, which are produced every day,' a ministry official said.
The ministry has proposed quick measures to subsidize affected farmers with half the market price of their eggs. But the farmers are dissatisfied with the plan and are looking to receive additional funds from the prefectural government.
People within the farming community are anxious. 'There is no logic in farmers whose farms were uninfected taking the burden of responsibility and suffering economically. If a proper compensation system isn't established, farmers may be hesitant about being forthcoming with information in the future,' one farmer said.
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