Samples taken from the droppings of migratory birds in Greater Kaohsiung’s Cieding Wetland (茄萣濕地) tested positive for the H7N9 avian influenza subtype, while a highly pathogenic H5 subtype was detected in the carcass of a thrush in Pingtung County’s Changjhih Township (長治), the Council of Agriculture said yesterday.
Unlike the H7N9 subtype found in China, the newfound H7N9 is not very pathogenic and will not transmit to humans, it said.
Animal Health Research Institute director-general Tsai Hsiang-jung (蔡向榮) said the genome sequencing conducted on the locally found H7N9 sample did not exhibit a characteristic defect identified in the one found in China, which is known to have a 30 percent fatality rate in humans.
There have not been any incidents of the locally found H7N9 strain affecting humans, he added.
Tsai said the H5 hemagglutinin taken from the dead thrush has been proven to be highly pathogenic and is the first one in the recent series to be confirmed from a migratory bird.
With reference to doubts from the media and academic circles over the validity of the council’s claim that the current avian flu outbreaks were caused by migratory birds, Tsai said that his institute does not have any proof to back that claim, but is searching for more cases of migratory birds infected with the new strains — H5N2, H5N3 and H5N8.
In response to speculation that the current outbreaks could have stemmed from poultry farms administering substandard vaccines to their birds, Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Director-General Chang Su-san (張淑賢) said doing so is strictly prohibited by law and risks exacerbating the outbreaks.
Those who use unregistered drugs on their animals can be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 (US$1,892 and US$9,465), while those who import or sell the medicines face a maximum jail term of seven years and a NT$4.5 million fine, Chang said.
Informants who provide information regarding the crime will receive a reward of NT$200,000, she added.
Due to the severity of the outbreaks, Chang said that the Executive Yuan and the council have decided to ease compensation rules for farmers.
“All farmers who report symptoms, no matter the time of the report, will receive full compensation if samples test positive for the new subtypes. In the past, full compensation was only given to informants who reported symptoms before the subtypes were identified.”
Proprietors of facilities that are culled after the H5 subtype is detected will also be compensated in full, should subsequent genome sequencing find the strain to be not very pathogenic, she said.
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