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COA bans Texas poultry goods

The Council of Agriculture yesterday added Texas to its list of banned sources for poultry products.

Council officials said that a strain of avian flu found on a Texas chicken farm was reclassified as high-pathogenic.

State officials had previously believed the outbreak was a less pathogenic variant of bird flu, meaning it posed little risk to humans and only a low risk to chickens.

Council officials yesterday urged travelers to areas affected by the more virulent strain of avian flu -- H5N1 -- to be alert. These areas include South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, China, Hong Kong and Texas.

The council also urged farmers to monitor their flocks more closely because more farms have been affected by the less pathogenic H5N2 strain.

On Monday, the Animal Health Research Institute confirmed the discovery of the H5N2 virus on six farms in Changhua and Kaohsiung counties. Since last month, chickens on these farms have been dying. Officials said that more than 110,000 chickens on these farms would all be slaughtered within days.

Scientists found colon bacillus and other pathogens of chronic respiratory diseases and infectious bronchitis on the farms.

About 82,500 chickens on five farms in Fangyuan, Hsihu and Tacheng townships of Changhua County were killed yesterday af-ternoon. Officials said it might take three or four days to complete the slaughter.

Chloral hydrate, a tranquilizer, is being used to kill the chickens.

There have been nine farms in Changhua County affected by the H5N2 virus since the middle of last month.

"We estimate that the epidemic has reached its peak and will subside next month," said Kuo Chou-che (郭丑哲), director of the county's Animal Health Inspection and Quarantine Department.

Kuo said all bird farms within 3km of the affected farms will be closely monitored for at least six months.

Meanwhile, a farm in Tienliao township in Kaohsiung County was quarantined yesterday. About 34,000 free-range chickens on the farm will be slaughtered starting tomorrow.

"Consumers shouldn't panic. All possibly infected chickens on the farm remain there," said Tsai Fu-chin (蔡復進), acting director of the county's agriculture bureau, who inspected the farm yesterday.

The farm's owner said that his chickens began dying last month and about 7,000 have died so far.

Most poultry products in the county are sold in Kaohsiung City. The city government conducted a randomly check of 173 vendors at different sites yesterday and found no infected chickens for sale.

Health authorities urge consumers to heat poultry products at temperatures higher than 56oC for three hours, 60oC for 30 minutes, or 100oC for 10 minutes before eating them.

Also see story:
Health officials mobilize to address Texas bird flu
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