Avian influenza 0124: Turkeys in Yunlin confirmed infected with H5 subtype avian influenza; duck and goose industry hit hard, and breeding geese and breeding ducks will have to be imported from abroad in the future
The avian influenza outbreak continues to spread; yesterday another 44 farms were confirmed and 35 farms were reported and sampled, among which turkeys were confirmed with the H5 virus for the first time, and as early as this afternoon a result may be available on which type it is and whether it is highly pathogenic or low pathogenic. Under public pressure, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture finally published on its website the eight gene segments of the novel H5N2 and H5N8 viruses. Chen Pao-chi, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, stressed that the Centers for Disease Control has recently carried out a double comparison, confirming that these two viruses are almost identical to those in Korea, Canada and elsewhere, and that they have not mutated into a bird-to-human gene, so consumers can still eat chicken with peace of mind.
First case of avian influenza appears at a Yunlin turkey farm
At present, the total number of farms reported and sampled for H5 subtype avian influenza across Taiwan, China is 464 across 11 counties and cities, of which 414 have been confirmed. As of 6 p.m. on the 22nd, 276 farms had been culled, a total of 605,000 poultry, of which nearly 80 percent were goose farms, and even breeding geese were culled; the industry will need at least two to three years to recover. Chen Pao-chi, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said the duck and goose industry has indeed been hit hard, and in the future breeding geese and breeding ducks must be imported from abroad to rebuild the industry.
Among the cases confirmed today, turkeys infected with H5 subtype avian influenza appeared for the first time, originating in Dongshi, Yunlin County. Tsai Hsiang-jung, director of the Animal Health Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture, said the owner's report was only received on Thursday, and after sampling the H5 virus was detected; as for which type it is, further analysis is required, with results expected as early as this afternoon.
Council of Agriculture publishes eight gene segments of H5N2 and H5N8, stressing they came from elsewhere
Many scholars and experts demanded that the Council of Agriculture publish the eight gene segments of the novel H5N2 and H5N8 so that they could compare how these viruses mutated and whether there was a risk of bird-to-human transmission, but the Council of Agriculture kept delaying publication, saying there was "no urgency in priority."
Today the Council of Agriculture finally posted on the avian influenza section of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine website the comparison results of the eight gene segments of the novel H5N2 and H5N8 viruses, as well as the amino acid sequences.
The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine once again stressed that the virus was not produced by the evolution of a Taiwan, China avian influenza virus strain; H5 and N8 are most similar to the H5 and N8 of last year's Korean duck H5N8 virus strain; N2 is most similar to the N2 of the H5N2 virus strain from wild birds in Xianghai, Jilin Province in 2011.
The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said that the comparison results of the other six internal gene segments are closest to virus strains isolated in mainland China, Japan and Korea, and all belong to the internal genes of the mainland China avian influenza virus pool, confirming that this wave of duck and goose avian influenza virus in Taiwan, China came from other countries.
Chen Pao-chi said the Council of Agriculture has further provided the eight gene segments of H5N2 and H5N8 to the Centers for Disease Control for double comparison. The Centers for Disease Control explained that at present these all belong only to avian influenza and have not mutated into a bird-to-human gene; Chen Pao-chi called out to consumers: "Our poultry products are very safe, consumers should not panic unnecessarily and can consume them with peace of mind."
