Frequent outbreaks of avian influenza in the country: Chiayi County calls for strengthening poultry farm safety

Recently, 3 native chicken farms in Dacheng Township, Changhua County were confirmed within one week to have H5N2 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks, with a cumulative culling of more than 80,000 poultry. In order to prevent the invasion of avian influenza virus, Chiayi County calls on poultry farmers, in addition to carrying out self-management disinfection work, to comply with the biosecurity conditions announced in the "Chiayi County H5 and H7 Subtype Avian Influenza Prevention and Control Measures." The Chiayi County Animal Disease Control Center will send personnel together with township and city offices to strengthen epidemic visits and disinfection operations in public areas, so as to prevent the introduction and spread of disease.

The Chiayi County Animal Disease Control Center said that with continued high temperatures and frequent rain, poultry are more likely to become ill due to heat stress. Poultry farmers should strengthen daily operating and management measures in their premises. The Animal Disease Control Center has launched environmental disinfection work around densely populated poultry-raising areas in Chiayi County. Since the 108th year of the Republic of China, it has assisted in completing disinfection at poultry farms, sorting facilities and public areas for a total of 4,139 sessions, and calls on poultry farmers to simultaneously carry out cleaning and disinfection operations within their premises to jointly eliminate pathogens that may persist in the production environment.

The Chiayi County Animal Disease Control Center calls on poultry farmers not to take the epidemic lightly and to implement all epidemic prevention work, including bird-proofing measures and control and disinfection of vehicles and personnel entering and exiting. If abnormalities are found in raised poultry, please report them to the epidemic prevention authorities as soon as possible for immediate handling. Those who fail to implement the regulations may be fined up to NT$1 million in accordance with the law, be ordered to make improvements within a specified period, and have their poultry culled without compensation. It also calls on the public not to contact wild birds, so as to avoid the occurrence of zoonotic infectious diseases.