Japan has culled a record 10.08 million birds so far this season after an unprecedented 57 cases of avian flu across 23 prefectures.

The figure comes after the ministry reported that “at a poultry farm in Kawaminami-Cho, Miyazaki Prefecture, a suspected case of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a livestock infectious disease, was confirmed (the 57th case in Japan this season)”.

“Genetic testing was conducted on the poultry, and it was confirmed that the poultry was suspected of being highly pathogenic avian influenza,” the Ministry noted.

The Ministry added that “under the current situation in Japan, we believe that there is no possibility that humans will be infected with the avian influenza virus by eating chicken or chicken eggs”.

Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.

Bird flu is similar to swine flu, dog flu, horse flu, and human flu as an illness caused by strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. (ILKHA)