Some 120,000 chickens on a Pingtung County farm will be culled due to the detection of highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N2, according to a Focus Taiwan report today.
The report suggests that the outbreak on the farm started in December with sporadic cases, confirmation of the avian flu virus was reported today. This is the first time this farm has experienced a bird flu outbreak.
Yao Chih-wang, head of the Pingtung Agriculture Department, said his department and the Animal Disease Control Center have put a ban on the movement of chickens and begun to disinfect the farm and will continue monitoring the situation.
Agriculture officials are keeping an eye on farms in Xinyuan and Wandan townships as some wild birds have reportedly died suddenly.
There has not been a reported case of H5N2 avian influenza in a human to date although Japanese poultry workers did demonstrate high H5N2 antibody titers several years ago.
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