About 8,900 broiler ducks at two farms in Yunlin County’s Dounan Township (斗南) are to be culled, while a suspected H5N2 infection was reported at farms in Tainan and Chiayi County on Monday.
Ducks at the Yunlin farms on Monday were found to have contracted a new type of the highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu virus, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
The bureau said that it would perform precautionary culls at the farms even though the animals were generally in good health.
The farms are unenclosed facilities within a 1km radius of a previously affected farm, but the ducks to be culled might have been exposed to the virus through interaction with migratory birds, the bureau said.
It is clear that the virus is still active in the areas, the bureau said, adding that would to conduct disinfection operations and take samples from all facilities within a 1km radius of all affected farms.
Operators who refuse inspections face a fine of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000 (US$915 and US$4,575), while those who fail to report irregular deaths of fowls face a maximum fine of NT$1 million, it said.
Ducks are a carrier of the virus, but show few symptoms and have a low mortality rate, the bureau said, adding that while the native H5N2 viruses only infects chickens, not waterfowl, the new H5N2 viruses are more powerful strains that can infect geese and ducks.
Separately, a farm in Tainan with about 1,800 geese and a farm in Chiayi with about 1,200 broiler ducks reported irregular deaths of hundreds of fowl to authorities on Monday, with tests done and the results given to the bureau for examination.
A report on the results is expected today.
As of Monday, the Council of Agriculture had tested samples from 986 farms nationwide and confirmed bird flu infection at 953 farms, culling animals at all 953 facilities, the bureau said.
To control the spread of avian influenza, in June the council announced that affected farms could resume poultry operations only after the facility is renovated to an enclosed or non-open structure, with the rules to take effect next year.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS