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Avian flu found in Taipei

A weaker strain of the avian flu virus, H5N2, has been found in samples from a duck sold in a public market in Taipei, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. After the bird's origins were traced, about 10,000 ducks at an affected farm in central Taiwan were slaughtered immediately.

According to the council's Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the H5N2 avian flu virus was discovered in samples collected from a live duck that was sold two weeks ago in Huan-nan Public Market in Wanhua District, Taipei City.

The discovery, which marked the first time that the H5N2 virus was found in a public market in Taiwan, triggered application of the government's stricter epidemic prevention measures.

"We already urgently asked local governments to slaughter all ducks raised on the farm in Yunlin County," Chiang Yi-nan (江益男), director general of the bureau, said at a press conference yesterday morning.

Yesterday afternoon, about 10,000 ducks at the affected farm in Touliu were slaughtered under the supervision of Yunlin County's Animal Disease Control Center.

The area within a 3km radius of the farm was cordoned off and only epidemic-prevention workers were allowed to enter the quarantine area.

Local officials said that several duck farms nearby would also be closely monitored and the government had tried its best to calm farmers.

Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠), the director of Taipei City's Department of Economic Development, said yesterday that no more ducks from Yunlin County would be allowed to enter the market -- the city's largest wholesale commercial center for poultry-related products.

"We will carry out more random checks of poultry samples and disinfect the market thoroughly," Lin said.

Meanwhile, Lin said, two additional random checks of poultry products in the market would be carried out. Usually, two random checks are conducted monthly.

Officials yesterday stressed that consumers should remain calm because the H5N2 virus would not be passed on to humans.

Legislators and activists of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) yesterday urged Minister of the COA Lee Ching-lung (李金龍) to tackle problems pertaining to unsanitary conditions in traditional markets, where chickens and ducks are killed on the spot before being sold to consumers.

"Filthy environments in traditional markets nationwide pose a great threat to public health and provide breeding grounds for the spread of avian flu," Buddhist Master Wu Hung (悟泓), also president of EAST, said to COA officials at a meeting yesterday.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Kuo-chung (鄭國忠) said that the killing of live chickens should be prohibited in public markets.

"Then the government can broaden the regulation to all markets nationwide, to effectively prevent the spread of deadly animal diseases, including avian flu," Cheng said.

Yesterday, the council decided to slaughter about 50,000 chickens at affected farms in Chiayi and Tainan counties, where the H5N2 virus was found earlier this month.

In addition, the council yesterday confirmed that about 100,000 chickens on four farms in Nantou County died of Newcastle disease on Wednesday and yesterday.
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