AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT MAY 2

UNCLAS TOKYO 002438 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AIAG AMBASSADOR LANGE DEPT FOR OES/IHA SINGER AND FENDRICK DEPT FOR EAP/J USDA PASS TO APHIS HHS PASS TO CDC HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO JA SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT MAY 2 REF: A. 05 STATE 153802 ¶B. TOKYO 2307 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. The following is an update on avian influenza (AI) developments in Japan for the period April 27 to May 2. No human or animal outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza were reported in Japan during that period. -- MAFF Suspends UK Poultry Imports, Turns to US for More -- ¶2. On April 29, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced that it has suspended imports of poultry and poultry meat from the United Kingdom because of an H7N3 outbreak of avian influenza there. Most of the chickens bred in Japan are descended from chickens imported from abroad. In 2005, Japan imported 375,000 chickens from the UK, or about 37 percent of total imports. France, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada also exported poultry to Japan. Imports of chickens from France, Germany and the Netherlands are also currently suspended. MAFF plans to expand imports of poultry from the United States and Canada to minimize the suspension's impact on Japan's poultry farms. DONOVAN