The said prefecture is the first in the country in egg production, with revenues of approximately 45.2 billion yen (306 million dollars) in 2000, according to NHK.

Eliminating those birds as a preventive measure implies heavy economic losses for the farmers.

Amid fears, Japanese authorities stress that there is no history of human illnesses caused by consuming eggs or meat infected with the H5 avian influenza and therefore ask distributors and consumers to be reassured.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in poultry farms in Okayama Prefecture and Hokkaido in late October.

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