About 930,000 chickens will be exterminated on Monday due to the outbreak of bird flu in the Japanese prefecture of Ibaraki, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries informed.

A large number of birds died on Sunday, and their genetic examination confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu. This is the 56th case in Japan since the beginning of the autumn-winter season.

According to Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, citing the aforesaid ministry, the 2020 “record” has been exceeded when 9.87 million birds had to be exterminated in the country during one season due to bird flu. In the current season, which has not yet ended, about 10 million chickens (9.98 million) have already been exterminated.

During the “record” 2020 season, 52 cases of bird flu were detected in 18 of Japan's 47 prefectures. In the current season 56 cases have been recorded in 23 prefectures.