The Council of Agriculture yesterday said the nation’s first cases of sparrows infected with a new H5 subtype of avian influenza virus had been found.
Two dead sparrows picked up by a resident in Taichung’s Situn District (四屯) tested positive for the H5 subtype on Friday last week, the first time the virus has been detected in a bird in the nation, the council said.
Between Jan. 15 last year and Friday, 16 cases of various types of bird flu had been reported, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
Sparrows could now be a potential channel for bird flu transmission, so poultry farm operators and government agencies should be alert to a possible outbreak of bird flu spread by sparrows, the council said.
Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) called on local health authorities to complete their inspections of all poultry farms in the municipality and take preventive measures against the disease.
City health authorities sent workers to disinfect three farms within a 3km radius of the area where the dead sparrows were found, Lin said.
There are 240 poultry farms in Taichung, which raise about 2.4 million birds, and local health authorities are to work with farmers to step up efforts to disinfect their premises, a city official said.
In other health news, the dengue fever outbreak in Kaohsiung is not slacking off, largely because temperatures have spiked following a period of rainfall, city officials said yesterday.
Kaohsiung, which recorded nearly 20,000 cases of dengue fever last year, reported 146 cases of the disease in the first 10 days of this year.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
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