After killing millions of chickens and ducks across Asia, bird flu is feared to have jumped to some exotic species, possibly killing a leopard and cranes in Thailand and pheasants in Taiwan.
A zoo in northern Thailand has even isolated two healthy giant pandas over fears they may catch the disease.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned that the disease -- which has killed 14 people in Vietnam and five in Thailand -- still has not been controlled in several Asian countries.
"Cambodia, China, Indonesia and Laos continue to report new outbreaks in poultry," FAO said.
Around 80 million chickens have been slaughtered across Asia, excluding China, to curb bird flu's spread, it said.
Indian authorities yesterday they plan to hold an emergency meeting in New Delhi tomorrow of health and agricultural officials from seven South Asian nations to draft a strategy to prevent the spread of bird flu in the highly populous region.
In Thailand, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Prapat Panyachatraksa said on Friday that tests showed that a clouded leopard died of bird flu on Jan. 27 at Khao Khiew Zoo in Chonburi province, 70km south of Bangkok.
The World Health Organization said that if confirmed it could be the first known case of the disease found in an exotic animal or a member of the cat family.
Two separate tests showed the leopard had succumbed to bird flu, but the exact strain was unclear, Prapat said. Officials were awaiting the results of a third test.
A zoo official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the leopard might have eaten chicken infected with bird flu.
Prapat also announced that tests were being carried out on more than 200 cranes that died at Bungboraphet Bird Park in Nakhon Sawan province, 210km north of Bangkok.
At the Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand's north, workers were trying to keep wild roosters and hens from coming close to the endangered pandas that have been rented from China for 10 years for US$250,000, the zoo's director Tanapat Pongpamorn said.
"Those chickens were born in the wild. They roam the zoo everywhere," he said. "We're doing our best."
In Taiwan, officials ordered a pet-bird farm in Tainan County to kill about 300 birds, including Swinhoe's pheasants -- a once-endangered indigenous bird with a short white crest and a blue head.
The culling was ordered after test results showed some of the birds were infected with H5N2, a less dangerous strain of bird flu that has not jumped to humans.
Ten governments in the region have been dealing with strains of bird flu since South Korean officials reported an outbreak in December. Some Asian countries, as well as the US, are being hit with a milder bird flu strain not thought to pose a danger to people.
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
RSS