The H5N1 avian influenza virus has been found in five more poultry farms, extending an outbreak that marks the first time the strain has made the leap from waterfowl to farmed landfowl in Taiwan, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
The infection clusters were found in one duck and three free-range chicken farms in Erlin Township (二林), and one goose farm in Pusin Township (埔心), all in Changhua County, COA Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) said.
The rise in cases shows that avian flu is spreading in Taiwan, although outbreaks have been contained, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Changhua County Animal Disease Control Center via CNA
Authorities have ruled out the possibility that the latest H5N1 cases were transmitted from a previous cluster in Yilan County, and wild waterfowl remains the most likely vector, Huang said.
The vector for the outbreak in chicken farms was either virus-bearing wild birds that entered the farms through gaps in coop netting or poultry workers who were exposed to the pathogen, he said.
The chicken-raising Erlin and Jhutang (竹塘) townships in Changhua County were flagged as hot zones for increased monitoring and sterilization, he added.
The H5N1 pandemic has impacted the farming of chicken and eggs in the US, Europe and Japan. Last month, Taiwan reported the year’s first cluster of the disease at a duck farm in Yilan County.
The latest outbreak brings the total number of farms affected in Taiwan to 39 — 25 chicken farms, 10 duck farms and four goose farms.
The outbreaks are not expected to impact the supply of chicken meat during the Lunar New Year, as the virus has not spread to broilers and reserves in cold storage are enough to meet demand, Huang said.
Changhua and Yunlin counties have high concentrations of poultry farms, and the emergence of clusters there is concerning, but other affected regions are safe as there have been no reported cases in the two weeks since the initial outbreak, he said.
Farm operators should streamline work processes to reduce the frequency of round-ups, secure their facilities and ensure compliance with sanitation guidelines, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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