In response to concerns about the spread of bird flu, Taiwan is ratcheting up its health inspection efforts, a government official said yesterday.
Taiwan will intensify its efforts not only to stop bird smuggling, but also to check the health of all inbound travelers from affected countries in light of the rapid spread of bird flu in Europe, the Middle East and India, National Science Council (NSC) Minister Chen Chien-jen
Bird flu surveillance has been carried out in Taiwan for years. To make more efficient use of the government's resources, the Cabinet formed a national task force in October last year to coordinate the work of several Cabinet agencies.
Last week, the minister, a well-established epidemiologist who formerly headed the Department of Health, was assigned to head the task force.
The task force has focused its attention on recent reports on the spread of bird flu involving the deadly H5N1 strain in several countries, especially India, which reported its first discovery of the H5N1 strain in western Maharashtra.
Recent changes in the government's economic and trade policy include active promotion of bilateral exchanges to tap into India's big market.
Chen said that bird flu prevention measures have been implemented at airports with inbound travelers from affected areas being screened for the disease. The task force is holding a meeting on Wednesday to further discuss new targets.
"The list of target countries will be updated immediately. We don't know how well those affected countries -- especially the developing ones -- are handling the situation," Chen said.
The minister added that more attention has to be paid to some developing countries, as they might have difficulty following the control measures set by the World Animal Health Organization. These measures include culling, quarantine and restriction of movement within the affected countries.
Chen stressed that the public should stay calm, since there has been no report involving human transmission of the deadly flu in Taiwan.
On bird smuggling, Chen said that "customs officials are on high alert and surveillance will be tightened to stop bird smuggling into Taiwan."
The minister added that Taiwan could be vulnerable due to the "small three links" between China, one of the bird flu epidemic areas, and Taiwan's offshore islands, including Kinmen and Matsu.
In addition, Chen said the task force this week might ask the Council of Agriculture to remind local poultry owners of the urgency of taking measures to protect their flock from being affected by migratory birds, which will begin to return to the north in March.
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