Avian influenza H5N8 strikes: Chiayi poultry farm infected, over 6,000 meat ducks culled

As autumn arrives and the weather turns cool, high-pathogenicity avian influenza has once again been reported in the Yunlin-Chiayi area. The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture confirmed that at 1 meat duck farm in Chiayi County, 200 ducks suddenly died, and samples sent to the Tamsui Animal Health Research Institute were confirmed as H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza; about 6000 meat ducks at the farm have been culled.

Because these meat ducklings came from Taixi in Yunlin, in addition to monitoring and disinfecting 13 poultry farms within a one-kilometer radius of the case farm, disease control authorities are also tracing and monitoring the duck farm that supplied the ducklings.

Shih Tai-hua, deputy director-general of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, confirmed that the meat duck farm infected with H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza is located in Puzi City, Chiayi County, and local disease control authorities completed culling and environmental disinfection on the 28th.

In the novel avian influenza outbreak that occurred from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, meat geese suffered the heaviest losses, with a mortality rate of nearly 90 percent or more. Ducks are carriers of avian influenza virus, and their symptoms are less obvious, but at this meat duck farm with a rearing scale of nearly 7000 ducks, about 200 suddenly died, so the Animal Health Research Institute initially detected H5 subtype avian influenza at the farm; before subtyping was completed, it was decided to immediately cull the remaining more than six thousand ducks at 10 a.m. on the 28th.

Shih Tai-hua pointed out that testing of the duck farm found H5N8 and 6 basic amino acids, confirming highly pathogenic avian influenza. Because there are 13 poultry farms within a one-kilometer radius of the meat duck farm, local disease control personnel attached great importance to it; in addition to collecting samples and guiding poultry farms to strengthen disinfection, all sample test results were negative for avian influenza.

However, the owner of the meat duck farm said that the ducklings at the farm were purchased from Taixi Township, Yunlin County, so the Chiayi County Animal Disease Control Center immediately notified Yunlin County. At present, disease control personnel in Yunlin County have collected samples from the rearing farm that supplied the ducklings and sent them for testing.

It is worth noting that because ducks are avian influenza virus carriers, even if they carry avian influenza virus, their symptoms are not obvious, and in the novel avian influenza outbreak from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, their mortality rate was also relatively low, unlike the mortality rate of the novel avian influenza virus in meat geese, which was as high as 90 percent. But this wave of avian influenza virus has made a comeback, and even more than two hundred ducks died. Whether this means the novel avian influenza virus has already mutated and become more aggressive toward virus-carrying ducks is worth watching.