The number of rabies-affected cities and counties now stands at seven, with two new cases of rabies infection in Formosan ferret-badgers confirmed on Thursday and yesterday by the Council of Agriculture, raising the total number of infected animals to 24.
“As of Thursday, 22 ferret-badgers, including one from Taichung’s Wufeng Township (霧峰) confirmed on Thursday, and one Asian house shrew were found to be infected with rabies,” Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Director Chang Su-san (張淑賢) said.
Later yesterday, the council confirmed another case from Chiayi County — the seventh city/country to become an affected region.
Responding to questions about the stock of animal rabies vaccines, Chang said a further 300,000 doses will arrive by Monday and 200,000 more by Aug. 12.
“An extra 450,000 already purchased are scheduled to arrive by the 15th, and we are to further purchase 50,000,” she said.
“By the end of this month, a total of 1.38 million doses will be available,” she said, adding that since manufacturers are planning to import more next month and in October, the stock of vaccines for animals is estimated to reach 1.71 million doses by the end of October.
“The total number of cats and dogs in Taiwan is about 1.5 million, including strays, 40 percent of which, or 900,000, are registered domestics that have been vaccinated at least once. The vaccines scheduled to arrive soon will therefore be more than enough for the remaining 60 percent,” she said.
However, Chang cautioned pet-owners that while the pets that have been vaccinated have “basic immunity” against the disease, re-vaccination is required for effective protection and the advice is it must be readministered every year.
At the press conference, the officials met a string of questions concerning the government’s preventive measures for stray animals. Among them was one about the protest raised by animal rights groups last week, accusing the council of “spewing-out half-truths” when encouraging local governments to, and placating the public by saying that they will, round up stray dogs in order to vaccinate them.
What was missing in the statement said the animal rights groups was that “animals kept in animal shelters or in the places designated by the municipal or county [city] competent authority that are not claimed, adopted or properly disposed of over 12 days following a notice or public announcement” may be killed under law.
The Life Conservationist Association, one of the protesting groups, called on the government to adopt the TNVR (Trap/Neuter/Vaccinate/Return) program, saying that the measure encouraged by the authority is one of “culling in disguise.”
The council’s Animal Protection Section chief Lin Tsung-yi (林宗毅) said returning the vaccinated stray animals back to the streets might be a problem for disease prevention because the animals will not return for the essential yearly vaccination on their own.
“What we can do is to call on the owners not to abandon their pets because of the rabies outbreak. Vaccination alone will do,” he said. “And now is actually the best timing for adoption, as all the sheltered animals are already vaccinated.”
At the same press briefing, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) reported that as of Thursday, 669 people have applied for the use of the human rabies vaccine, of which 391 have been approved.
Centers Director-General Chang Feng-yee (張峰義) said a program for those who had been bitten by ferret-badgers in the past year had been initiated.
“These people can call 1922, the disease prevention toll-free hotline, to be evaluated on the need to get vaccinated against rabies,” Chang said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS