Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Japanese authorities fear that a new wave of the bird flu epidemic will hit their country after breeding grounds for the virus were discovered in Kyoto Prefecture.

Yesterday, March 8, a Japanese couple, who ran a poultry farm infected with the virus, committed suicide. Both were accused of having covered up the mass death of their chickens and thus having contributed to the disease's spread.

Police found a note in which the couple wrote, "We have caused so many problems." 

Police found the bodies of Hajimu Asada, 67, and his wife, Chisako, 64, hung from a tree outside a chicken pen in Himeji, about 500 km west of Tokyo. A total of 18,000 chickens had died on their chicken farm in Tamba (Kyoto). Two of the four dead crows found near their property tested positive for the virus. Concerns are now raised regarding the news that the couple had sold around 15,000 chickens and exported about 900,000 eggs. 

According to health experts the virus is still spreading. Last week other virus breeding grounds were found on a farm just 5 km from that of the Asada family. A month ago, after news broke of suspicious deaths among birds on the Asada farm, 130,000 dead birds were already recorded in the surrounding area. 

Meanwhile Thailand, one of the hardest hit countries together with Vietnam, said it is now disease-free. Authorities say there has been no case of infection recorded since Feb. 25. Yukol Limlamthong, chairman of the Ministry of Agriculture's department of zootechnics, said that based on rules stipulated by the World Organization for Animal Heath (WOAH), farmers can return raising chickens after three consecutive weeks without new cases of infection. Yet he added "just to play it safe, Thai (farmers) will begin raising chickens starting in April." (MR)

• Japan
• Thailand
• bird
• flu
• h5n1
• epidemic
• suicide