Confirming yesterday that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease had spread from Yunlin County (
The officials also ordered the further slaughter of infected cattle, while calling on farmers in southern Taiwan to vaccinate all ungulates -- cattle, swine, goats and deer -- in order to prevent any further spread of the disease.
Officials from the COA announced the state of emergency after confirming that the disease had spread to Lunbei (
PHOTO: AFP
Officials said access to the area would be strictly controlled and that all farmers south of Changhua County (
In a bid to bring the FMD outbreak under control among dairy cattle at one farm in Liuchiao township, Chiayi County, animal disease prevention officials destroyed 131 dairy cattle early yesterday morning, burning the carcasses on the spot as a precautionary measure.
At an emergency press conference yesterday, agriculture officials stressed the necessity of further preventative vaccinations.
Because the infected farm is one of 16 dairy farms running businesses in a dairy farming district where at least 2,500 dairy cattle are raised, officials said that chemicals for sterilization would be distributed to neighboring farmers within the next day or two.
A COA report revealed yesterday that cattle already slaughtered in Yunlin County had died of the O-Kinmen type virus, which was also responsible for an outbreak of FMD in cattle last June.
"However, the virus causing the death of cattle in Chiayi has not yet been identified. It could be the O-Kinmen type or the O-Taiwan type virus," said Lee Chin-lung (
"We have to be very careful because Taiwan is listed as a FMD area, where an outbreak could happen anytime," said Watson Sung (
Facing accusations regarding the COA's delays in slaughtering the animals, COA chairman Lin Hsiang-nung (
"We will slaughter infected animals immediately without confirming the virus type, as long as we see symptoms of FMD," Lin said.
COA officials also stressed yesterday that consumers need not worry, because the disease cannot be transmitted across the species barrier to humans.
In addition, officials said that unpasteurized milk from infected cattle has already been destroyed.
Officials from the Department of Health (DOH) echoed statements by the COA yesterday, saying that milk on the market could not possibly be contaminated.
"The virus can be found only in the mouth and feet of the infected animals, and does not affect the milk ducts," said Chen Lu-hung (
The disease broke out twice in Taiwan between 1913 and 1929, but did not strike the island again until an outbreak at local pig farms in 1997.
Officials said that since the vaccine was not expected to eradicate the disease, the slaughter of all exposed animals was an essential countermeasure.
COA officials decided yesterday to compensate farmers for their financial losses based on market prices.
Officials said, however, that the policy would not be applied to unvaccinated animals.
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