A biological test showed an outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm in southwestern Japan last week was due to a highly virulent type within the H5N1 strain of the virus, a farm ministry official said.
In the test, eight birds were injected on tuesday with the bird flu virus taken from dead birds at the farm, and by thursday all eight had died, confirming that it was highly virulent. Further genetic tests will allow experts to analyze the results.
As per the guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health, a biological test is required to determine how highly poisonous the bird flu virus is, as not all types of the H5N1 strain are equally virulent. Japan health officials are taking all mesures to prevent bird flu spread to humans.