More avian flu reported in poultry in Taiwan, Vietnam

New outbreaks of highly avian influenza have been reported in commercial poultry in Taiwan, and the disease appears to have jumped to southern Vietnam from a previous outbreak in the north of the country.

monticello | Bigstock.com
monticello | Bigstock.com

Over the past two weeks, six new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) linked to the H5N2 virus subtype have been reported in Taiwan.

Official reports from Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have revealed further outbreaks at five farms and a slaughterhouse between July 18 and 29, bringing losses of poultry of well over 57,000, including mortalities of 5,750.

Five of the outbreaks were in native chickens, which appear to be particularly susceptible to the virus. Four farms were affected in Yunlin county, bringing the total outbreaks in the county so far this year to 29. Three further cases were detected among a group of native chickens at a slaughterhouse in the Wanhua district of Taipei city. The sixth outbreak was in a flock of more than 9,600 laying hens at Dacheng in Changhua — the 12th outbreak in the county since the start of 2019.

Two HPAI virus types detected in Vietnam

OIE has also been informed about a new outbreak of HPAI linked to the H5N6 virus variant in Vietnam. A total of 4,700 poultry were destroyed at a village in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in the south of the country during the first week of August after the virus was detected. Vietnam’s agriculture ministry has linked this latest outbreak to previous cases in the northern province of Thai Binh during June, which was reported to have been resolved by July 23.

Local media in Vietnam are reporting two further outbreaks of HPAI linked to the H5N1 virus. After it was detected in 1,500 chickens at a farm in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, all the birds were culled and the area disinfected, according to Saigon Online.

A backyard flock in the Binh Thuy district of the city had tested positive for the same virus at the end of July, according to the same source. Local administrations have been told by the agriculture ministry to increase controls on the transportation, slaughter, and trading of poultry in the province.

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.

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