Bird flu detected in Japanese swans

The Japanese government announced that the birds, 3 of which had died, were found on the shores of Lake Towada in Akita prefecture in the north.
Inspectors detected the H5 strain of bird flu in the swans, but tests are still underway to determine if it is the highly virulent H5N1 strain.

Authorities have patrolled the area but have not found any incidents of large numbers of deaths or unnatural deaths in wild fowl.

There are no chicken farms within a 10 km radius of the area where the swans were found, and no unusual incidents were noted at other farms.