Inspections of chickens suspected of having been infected with avian influenza in Changhua County returned H5N2-positive results from chicken tissue samples.
However, the overall death rate among the chickens remained normal, the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
The bureau’s comments came in relation to a dead chicken suspected of having contracted avian influenza that was received by the council on Dec. 27.
The bureau instructed the Changhua County Animal Health Inspection and Protection Center to investigate the site the next day and its inspections were completed on Saturday.
Tissue samples were twice taken from the site for testing, on Dec. 30 and Wednesday last week, the bureau said, adding that the chickens presented with no obvious clinical symptoms of avian influenza, with their daily death rate lower than the average for henhouses of 0.05 percent to 0.075 percent.
Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Director Hsu Tien-lai (許天來) said that normally, the death rate in birds that contract avian influenza is as high as between 90 percent and 100 percent.
“However, at the site we inspected, the daily death rate was less than 10 on some days and more than 100 only infrequently, which is very different from avian influenza,” Hsu said.
After inspections at 115 sites in the vicinity of the location, no unusual trends in poultry deaths were found, the bureau said. H5N2-positive results came only from serological tests of the chickens’ tissue samples.
In addition, the bureau said that according to data provided by the Poultry Association and National Animal Industry Foundation, the number of egg producing hens has remained at about 25 million for the past three months, producing about 91,000 boxes of eggs a day, which is normal.
Avian influenza has often occurred in the months of January and February, the bureau said.
In response, it began to step up inspections at ports of entry, while also monitoring and conducting sample tests on migratory birds, chickens from local markets and supervising site disinfections.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all