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.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS