Eight of the 1,037 birds that were smuggled into Taiwan from China on a ship have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, but an outbreak is unlikely as they have been seized and destroyed, officials said yesterday.
At a press conference yesterday, Council of Agriculture (COA) officials said that eight of 276 dead birds discovered on a Panama-registered ship by the Taiwan Coast Guard in Taichung Harbor on Oct. 14 were tested and found to be carrying the H5N1 virus.
The 1,037 birds on board were smuggled from China last week, raising concerns over the risk of bird flu being brought to Taiwan.
PHOTO: CNA
Officials said they did not know where the ship was heading, but had received information about it from an undisclosed source.
Nineteen types of birds were found on board the ship, with three types -- myna birds, black-naped orioles and Chinese nightingales -- found to be carrying the H5N1 virus.
According to Chao Parn-hwa (
All eight were found to have the H5N1 virus, Chao said.
Meanwhile, noting that the birds were smuggled from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last night called on Beijing to adopt transparent measures in its actions against bird-flu to avoid becoming a "loophole" in other countries' efforts to combat outbreaks.
In Taichung, one crewmember from the ship, a Chinese national, is in quarantine and is being interrogated. The remaining 24 crewmembers left Taiwan with the ship on Monday.
Officials said that the quarantined crewmember has no symptoms at the moment and is taking Tamiflu, the most effective bird-flu medication available.
A 40-person team that searched the ship and destroyed the birds was not quarantined, as team members had worn protective gear and did not come in direct contact with the infected birds, officials said. But they are being monitored as a precaution, the officials added.
Watson Sung (
Smugglers face up to three years imprisonment and a NT$150,000 fine. Officials are considering tightening the smuggling law.
"All the birds on board the ship have been destroyed. Bird flu has not spread into Taiwan and we are not an infected zone," Sung said.
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to combat a possible avian flu outbreak, Taipei Municipal Hospital yesterday announced the establishment of a "vanguard team" of 108 hospital staff that will be stationed at Hoping Hospital should an outbreak occur.
The 108 doctors, nurses and other hospital staff from six municipal hospitals will be stationed at Hoping Hospital, which has been designated the anti-avian flu center for the city.
Officials hope to gain from the hospital's experience during the SARS outbreak of 2003.
At a ceremony to announce the team's establishment, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
also see story:
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS