Tue, Jan 05, 2021 page3

• Tainan hospital saves poisoned bird using antitoxin secured with AIT help

  ‘STRATEGIC MATERIAL’: Two black-faced spoonbills had apparently ingested contaminated food and one had died, while the other was given botulism antitoxin

  • By Tsai Wen-chu, Tsai Ssu-pei and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  A black-faced spoonbill was saved from life-threatening food poisoning after it was given a rare antitoxin serum that the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) had helped obtain, a Tainan City Government official said yesterday.

  Two black-faced spoonbills — one dead and one near death — were discovered along the north bank of Tainan’s Yanshuei River (鹽水溪) over the weekend after they are believed to have ingested food contaminated with bacteria which cause botulism.

  The surviving bird was rushed to the city’s Tzu Ai Animal Hospital, where it was injected with a botulism antitoxin serum, of which the city had secured a supply with the AIT’s help, Tainan Animal Health Inspection and Protection Office director Wu Ming-pin (吳名彬) said.

  

  Tainan Animal Health Inspection and Protection Office officials care for a black-faced spoonbill with food poisoning, after it was found on the north bank of Tainan’s Yanshuei River over the weekend.

  Photo courtesy of Taijiang National Park

  “Botulism antitoxin is very hard to come by — it is a strategic material. The central government had to procure it through the AIT,” Wu said.

  Wu also dispelled rumors that the serum costs as much as NT$300,000 per dose, saying that a single dose costs NT$20,000 and one dose is more than enough for a black-faced spoonbill.

  The city keeps a supply of the serum at all times after a similar incident several years ago, when a large number of black-faced spoonbills developed botulism, he said, adding that the serum is stored in 18cc doses at minus-20°C.

  

  A pangolin is pictured at Taipei Zoo in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo

  “When they brought the bird in it was really weak and couldn’t stand on its own or move its wings,” Tzu Ai Animal Hospital director Chen Pei-chung (陳培中) said.

  The bird started showing signs of recovery after receiving only 0.5cc of serum, he said, adding that hospital personnel are manually feeding it during recovery, as it is afraid of the strange surroundings and refuses to eat on its own.

  The hospital expects to release the bird back into the wild within a few days, he said.

  Separately yesterday, Taipei Zoo said it last year rescued 128 animals, including colubrid snakes, storks, spoonbills, brown boobies, leopard cats, squirrels, kingfishers and Taiwan blue pheasants.

  Most notable among the mammals it rescued was a pangolin, which is a timid animal that refuses to eat when frightened or under stress, it said.

  The zoo advised people who find injured animals to notify authorities via the 1999 hotline.

  It also urged people who find injured animals to avoid touching them or standing close to them to pose for photographs, which can frighten wild animals and might cause them to attack, it said.

  In emergency situations, the zoo sometimes sends injured animals to the Forestry Bureau, which has a specialized team of vets who can perform tests and surgeries, it said, adding that specialists conduct evaluations before releasing animals back into the wild.
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