Taiwan will take the opportunity of the discovery of avian-flu virus subtype H5N2 on a poultry farm in Changhua County to try to develop a bird-flu vaccine for humans, a Department of Health (DOH) official said yesterday.
Su Ih-jen (
PHOTO: WANG PAI-LIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Noting that H5 vaccines for fowl have already been produced abroad, Su said that the department will seek to cooperate with foreign pharmaceutical companies to jointly research and develop H5 vaccines for humans.
Su has traveled from Taipei to Changhua County to inspect the poultry farm in Fangyuan Township where some 20,000 chickens were destroyed early yesterday morning after the avian flu virus subtype H5N2 was discovered among the fowl.
Su said that all six workers on the poultry farm, including the owner, will undergo thorough health checks to make sure they have not been infected with the virus. One of the six workers has had a cough, but Su, who holds a doctoral degree in medicine, said that, judging from the worker's symptoms, it is likely that he only had the common cold.
Noting that Taiwan has never had an avian flu case, Su said it is believed that the H5N2 virus that was detected on the Fangyuan farm was probably brought to Taiwan by migratory birds.
Meanwhile, poultry farm owners in neighboring Chiayi County have apparently become jittery as a result of the H5N2 report in Changhua. Many of the owners have begun to sterilize their farms and to chase migratory birds from their fields.
In Taipei, officials from the Kuandu Nature Park said that since avian-flu cases were reported in Japan, Vietnam and South Korea earlier this week, the park had sent relevant samples obtained from birds in the park to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine for testing.
None of the samples has been found to carry the H5 virus.
The Kuandu Nature Park, located near Tamsui, is one of the largest natural habitats in northern Taiwan for wild birds, particularly migratory birds.
In related news, an official from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine yesterday called on the public not to use raw eggs as an ingredient when they eat hot-pot while there are concerns that the bird-flu virus could be affecting the nation's poultry population.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS