COA Confirms Cases of Avian Influenza in Changhua CountyTue, Jan 10, 2012 Inspections of chickens s
Tue, Jan 10, 2012
Inspections of chickens suspected of having been infected with avian influenza in Changhua County returned H5N2-positive results from chicken tissue samples.However, the overall death rate among the chickens remained normal, the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said.
The bureau’s comments came in relation to a dead chicken suspected of having contracted avian influenza that was received by the council on Dec. 27.The bureau instructed the Changhua County Animal Health Inspection and Protection Center to investigate the site the next day and its inspections were completed on Saturday.
Tissue samples were twice taken from the site for testing, on Dec. 30 and Wednesday last week, the bureau said, adding that the chickens presented with no obvious clinical symptoms of avian influenza, with their daily death rate lower than the average for henhouses of 0.05 percent to 0.075 percent.
Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Director Hsu Tien-lai (許天來) said that normally, the death rate in birds that contract avian influenza is as high as between 90 percent and 100 percent.