Birds from a second quail farm in the central Japanese city of Toyohashi tested positive for the highly pathogenic H7N6 strain of bird flu, the local government said Monday.
The authorities inspected quail farms within 5-kilometre-radius of a farm, where the H7N6 virus was detected Friday, and found the birds at another farm had been infected.
About 260,000 birds have been culled since last week. Quails and chickens as well as eggs have been banned for shipment until further inspections prove all 24 farms within the area are virus-free, according to media reports.
No quail had died of the virus and no humans had been infected, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.
The quail were infected with the highly pathogenic H7N6 strain of the disease, which is different from the H5N1 avian influenza strain that has been dangerous to humans, reported dpa.