Taiwan's Bird Flu Efforts Pay Off

TAIPEI - Mar 2/04 - SNS -- Taiwan's efforts to contain outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) appear to be having good success in the island nation, having little impact on domestic demand.

Taiwan is one of the few markets in East Asia to have escaped so far an outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the poultry industry, notes the U.S. agricultural attache here.

Effective control of a concurrent outbreak of H5N2 low pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) on Taiwan has limited the numbers of farms affected and also limited consumer concerns regarding domestic poultry safety. The risk of HPAI continues from migratory birds and the smuggling of poultry and other products from China.

In Taiwan, all suspect poultry are tested for avian influenza&#059; all birds on affected farms are slaughtered&#059; and the agriculture department establishes a six-month long monitoring program of surrounding farms. This regime has so far proven successful at limiting the outbreak of AI to a small number of farms, most in the agricultural south of the island.

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