Chickens at two slaughterhouses in Taipei and New Taipei City were confirmed to be infected with the H5N8 avian influenza virus, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
As of yesterday, 40 chickens at a slaughterhouse in New Taipei City’s Taishan District (泰山) and 24 chickens at a facility in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) have been culled, Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Deputy Director-General Shih Tai-hua (施泰華) said.
The infected chickens came from poultry farms in Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪) and Yunlin County’s Shueilin Township (水林), he said.
After receiving veterinarian reports on Friday, the bureau had prohibited the two farms from transporting any chickens.
More avian flu infections — mainly the H5N2 and H5N8 strains — than normal were reported this summer, which should have been a dormant season for the viruses, Shih said.
China, Vietnam and the Philippines also reported more bird flu infections this summer, he said, denying media reports that the viruses have adapted to the nation’s warmer weather.
“We have been analyzing the viruses every season, but have not observed any sign of evolution,” Shih said.
The risk of humans becoming infected with H5N8 “cannot be excluded, although the likelihood is low,” according to the WHO.
The nation’s chicken farmers had a difficult year, as they have faced successive blows from an H5N6 outbreak during the first four months, dioxin-polluted eggs in late April, fipronil-tainted eggs late last month and bird flu infections.
As of 6pm yesterday, eggs were sold at an average of NT$20.5 per 600g, much cheaper than the NT$29 they sold for before the fipronil scare erupted on Aug. 20.
“With schools starting, the demand for eggs is on the rise, as is their price,” Department of Animal Industry Deputy Director Wang Chung-shu (王忠恕) said, declining requests to predict the price.
However, chicken and egg supplies are still sufficient given that the fipronil scare did not lead to major culls, he added.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS