Lawmaker pours scorn on handling of imported fowl

A legislator charged yesterday that the Council of Agriculture's neglect of animal epidemic prevention has resulted in the entry into Taiwan of birds infected with the bird-flu virus.

Agricultural however, denied the charge, saying that the birds in question had tested negative when examined for the virus.

According to PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (李慶安), 89 birds from seven different species -- all of which were imported from the Netherlands on Feb. 21 -- received a quarantine permit from the council and were allowed into the country on March 3 after a period of quarantine.

However, Lee said, the council later notified local animal disease control centers that the birds had tested positive for the Polymerase Chain Reaction, implying that they could have been infected by H5 virus. That's the same virus that caused the spread of the bird flu in Hong Kong.

Lee the council's action was obviously too slow, because the 89 birds had already been distributed around the country -- including Taipei City, Ilan County, Hsinchu County, Taichung County and Nantou County.

"It's unbelievable that the council could carry out quarantine so perfunctorily," Lee said.

"Who will be responsible if the bird flu spreads in Taiwan because of that?" she demanded.

Lee the council was not alert to problems in Hong Kong, In 1997, bird flu claimed six lives in the territory.

Of the the 89 birds that were admitted into the country, 10 crimson-bellied tragopans sent to the Taipei Zoo were killed immediately after management there received the council's notification, Lee said. The zoo's actions highlight the council's poor performance, Lee said.

Agricultural officials, however, denied Lee's accusations.

Watson Sung (宋華聰), deputy director-general of the council's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said that the 89 birds were not infected because all of them had been examined comprehensively during the period of quarantine.

Sung that two other birds died during the same period, but said anatomy reports suggested that their deaths were not related to the bird flu virus.

"We used virus-isolation methods to find out if the bird is infected by the bird-flu virus. Results from the 89 birds in question were all negative," Sung said.

The positive results from the PCR test didn't neccessarily mean that the birds had been infected with the bird flu virus, he said.

"Sometimes a false positive reaction occurs. That's why we notified local animal disease control centers of the results," Sung said.