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Topic: Taiwan smuggled birds carry H5N1 大陸走私往台灣雀鳥帶禽流感 (Read 2847 times) |
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Carrie Ma
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Taiwan smuggled birds carry H5N1 大陸走私往台灣雀鳥帶禽流感
« on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 11:03pm » |
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Message extraced from Asia Pacific Migratory Waterbird e-mail group (23 October 2005)
Quote"
Archive Number 20051021.3075
Published Date 21-OCT-2005
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, Eurasia (22): H5N1
[2]
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005
From: Tang Kin fai
Source: Channelnewsasia, 20 Oct 2005 [edited]
The infected birds were hill myna, red-billed leiothrix and black-naped oriole, according to the [Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine] bureau's director Sung Hua-tsong.
It was the 2nd time Taiwan had seized pet birds smuggled from mainland China since coastguards launched a dragnet in August [2005] to crack down on the illegal trade.
The Chinese crew member who smuggled the birds has been detained in central Taiwan while the authorities offered up to 3.6 million Taiwan dollars (USD 107 462) for tip-offs on bird smuggling.
Smuggling is rampant between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, which are separated by the Taiwan Strait, 170 kilometres wide at its most narrow point.
--
Tang Kin fai, PhD
Singapore
[Clearly, this consignment included pet birds. According to encyclopaedic data, Hill myna is a starling, _Gracula religiosa_,family: Sturnidae, order: Passeriformes, native to Europe and North America. It has the capacity to mimic human speech and often kept as a pet. Red-billed leiothrix, _Leiothrix lutea_, family: Timaliidae, order: Passeriformes, is a babbler, native to Southern Asia. The black-naped oriole,_Oriolus hinensis chinensis_, order: Passeriformes, family: Corvidae, is a songbird, native to India, southeast Asia and China. It will be interesting to note which of the said species was found infected and whether they were clinically affected or asymptomatic.
The risk of H5N1 spread by smuggled birds has been raised in the past; recently, the issue has been dealt with in updated European measures to prevent the introduction of the virus (see items 3 and 5 below). - Mod.AS]
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Carrie Ma
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Re: [APMW] Taiwan smuggled birds - carry avian inf
« Reply #1 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 11:04pm » |
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2. AVIAN INFLUENZA, EURASIA (19): TAIWAN EX CHINA, SUSPECTED
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Sponsored by Elsevier, publisher of Tropical Infectious Diseases, 2nd Edition <http://thelancet.url123.com/a5445>
[1]
Date: 20 Oct 2005
From: Tzu Mei Huang
Taiwan detects avian flu virus (H5N1) on smuggled birds from China
----------------------------------------------
Taiwan intercepted a Panama-registered cargo ship from China on October 14th and found hundreds of smuggled birds, mice and turtles. Taiwan's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) were responsible for this joint operation. The smuggled animals were destroyed the next day. 19 specimens were collected from the 1037 birds and were sent to the Animal Health Research Institute for RT-PCR and chick embryo inoculation to examine whether these birds carried avian flu virus.
The result came out today (20th) and showed those birds were avian flu H5N1-positive. Since the smuggled animals were completely destroyed, we are able to timely prevent the invasion of avian flu.
Officials wore full protective gear in the process of making arrests and destroying animals to protect their own health. They also followed self-health-management regulations to monitor [their own] health status for 10 days. All related personnel in the operation are currently in good health, and the local health bureaus and the 3rd Branch office of the Taiwan CDC will continue to monitor their health.
At the time of the operation, a total of 25 people were on board; 24 of them left the country on the same ship on 16 Oct 2005. One of them was detained in the Taichung Detention Center on the charge of smuggling. He showed no bird flu symptoms, and he will be administered preventive medication starting today.
--
Tzu Mei Huang
Deputy Director, Surveillance Division
Center for Disease Control, Taiwan
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Carrie Ma
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Re: [APMW] Taiwan smuggled birds - carry avian inf
« Reply #2 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 11:05pm » |
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[2]
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 [edited]
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AFX via Forbes.com, 20 Oct 2005 [edited] <http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/10/20/afx2288417.html>
Some birds [which species?! - Mod.AS] smuggled into Taiwan from China have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, but an outbreak is unlikely, as all the seized birds had already been destroyed, health officials said.
"Samples collected before the birds were destroyed were later tested positive for H5N1," said Ying Yeh, deputy director of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.
The number of infected birds is not immediately available, Yeh said.
China yesterday announced its 1st reported outbreak of bird flu in more than 2 months, saying the disease had killed 2600 birds, mostly chickens, on a farm in its northern Inner Mongolia region.
Taiwan's coast guard last week confiscated and destroyed some 1500 birds smuggled from the southeast Chinese city of Fuzhou [capital of Fujian province, southeast China] aboard a Panama-registered vessel in the island's central Taichung harbour.
"There shouldn't be any worry about a bird flu outbreak, as all birds including the affected ones were killed right on the spot where they were confiscated," Yeh said.
It was the 2nd time Taiwan has seized birds smuggled from mainland China since the coast guard launched a crackdown on the illegal trade in August [2005].
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[In December 2003, the Taiwan authorities destroyed 6 smuggled ducks which were found on the water near Taiwan's front-line island of Quemoy. Reportedly, the ducks were found infected with the H5N1 virus that hit Hong Kong in 1997.
From the current Taiwanese CDC report, which is gratefully acknowledged, it might be assumed that the confiscated birds were probably not domestic poultry. Were they pet-birds? Otherwise? Which species? Did they show disease symptoms? Any pathological changes? Details, if available, will be appreciated.
China has sent to the OIE its 3rd follow-up report on avian influenza on 19 Oct 2005. The report describes an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza caused by an H5 virus, in chicken and ducks in the village of Tengjiaying, Huhehot municipality, Inner Mongolia.
According to the report, the outbreak started on 14 Oct 2005 and the diagnosis performed by the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, on 19 Oct 2005. HI was positive, RT-PCR positive, and IVPI (Intravenous pathogenicity index, performed in 6-weeks-old chicken) "highly pathogenic". The report says that the source of infection is "contact with wild animals," indicating that "migrating birds pass and stay around the pool where the HPAI outbreak [was detected]." In response to the outbreak, vaccination was carried out, applying inactivated mono H5N2 vaccine. The report is available at <http://oie.int/downld/AVIAN%20INFLUENZA/China%20follow%20up%20report.pdf >
Could it be assumed from the above newswire that a previous consignment of birds smuggled from China, confiscated after August 2005, was tested and not found positive? - Mod.AS]
[Elsevier reference:
Avian influenza: perfect storm now gathering? 5 Mar 2005. Lancet. 365 (9462):820 <http://thelancet.url123.com/26swp>]
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Carrie Ma
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Re: [APMW] Taiwan smuggled birds - carry avian inf
« Reply #3 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 11:06pm » |
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[ [1]
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Taipei Times, 21 Oct 2005 [edited] <http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2005/10/21/2003276653>
Tests of dead birds that were smuggled in from China found they were infected with the H5N1 virus, but officials said the risk of an outbreak was low.
With a possible outbreak of avian flu looming, some healthcare workers wearing isolation gowns participated in a ceremony announcing the establishment of Taipei City's "disease prevention and control mobilization corps" yesterday at Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital.
8 of the 1037 birds that were smuggled into Taiwan from China on a ship have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, but an outbreak is unlikely, as they have been seized and destroyed, officials said yesterday.
At a press conference yesterday, Council of Agriculture (COA) officials said that 8 of 276 dead birds discovered on a Panama-registered ship by the Taiwan Coast Guard in Taichung Harbor on 14 Oct 2005 were tested and found to be carrying the H5N1 virus. The 1037 birds on board were smuggled from China last week, raising concerns over the risk of bird flu being brought to Taiwan.
Officials said they did not know where the ship was heading, but had received information about it from an undisclosed source.
19 types [species] of birds were found on board the ship, with 3 -- myna birds, black-naped orioles and Chinese nightingales -- found to be carrying the H5N1 virus.
According to Chao Parn-hwa, director of the Animal Health Research Institute, 8 of the 276 dead birds were sent to the institute for inspection. All 8 [randomly picked samples] were found to have the H5N1 virus, Chao said.
Meanwhile, noting that the birds were smuggled from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last night called on Beijing to adopt transparent measures in its actions against bird-flu to avoid becoming a "loophole" in other countries' efforts to combat outbreaks.
In Taichung, one crew member from the ship, a Chinese national, is in quarantine and is being interrogated. The remaining 24 crew members left Taiwan with the ship on Monday.
Officials said that the quarantined crew member had no symptoms and is taking Tamiflu, the most effective bird-flu medication available.
A 40-person team that searched the ship and destroyed the birds was not quarantined, as team members had worn protective gear and did not come in direct contact with the infected birds, officials said. But they are being monitored as a precaution, the officials added.
Watson Sung, director-general of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said that the bureau will combat animal smuggling and advises the public to call 0800-039-131 or 118 to report smuggling to the coast guard.
Smugglers face up to 3 years imprisonment and a TWD 150 000 [USD 4400] fine. Officials are considering tightening the smuggling law.
"All the birds on board the ship have been destroyed. Bird flu has not spread into Taiwan and we are not an infected zone," Sung said.
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to combat a possible avian flu outbreak, Taipei Municipal Hospital yesterday [20 Oct 2005] announced the establishment of a "vanguard team" of 108 hospital staff that will be stationed at Hoping Hospital should an outbreak occur.
The 108 doctors, nurses and other hospital staff from 6 municipal hospitals will be stationed at Hoping Hospital, which has been designated the anti-avian flu center for the city.
Officials hope to gain from the hospital's experience during the SARS outbreak of 2003.
At a ceremony to announce the team's establishment, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou said the city has been working on the preventative measures for more than 6 months, and he hoped that with the team, the city would be able to prevent situations such as the SARS outbreak from happening.
[Byline: Jean Lin and Mo Yan-chih]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
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Carrie Ma
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Re: [APMW] Taiwan smuggled birds - carry avian inf
« Reply #4 on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 11:06pm » |
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[2]
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The China Post, 21 Oct 2005 [edited] <http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/detail.asp?ID=70566&GRP=B>
A group [consignment] of smuggled birds that was stopped off the coast of Taiwan and destroyed on the spot 5 days ago tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the bird flu, the government announced yesterday as it reported Taiwan's 1st case of the virus which has killed 60 people in Asia.
A total of 1037 birds along with a number of mice and turtles had been found on a Panama-registered ship traveling from China by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) last Friday off the coast of Taichung harbor.
Members from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) proceeded to board the ship and destroy the animals, half of which were already dead, after collecting samples of their excretions for further testing on Sat [24 Oct 2005].
All of the ship's crew had been ordered to leave the country on their ship on Sunday except for one who was detained by authorities in Taichung for allegedly attempting to smuggle the animals into Taiwan.
The suspected smuggler, who according to local media brought the birds from Fuzhou [of Fijian province], mainland China, has been in good health and showed no signs of being infected by the virus so far, BAPHIQ said. He will be receiving medication.
Members of CGA and health workers from BAPHIQ who had been in direct contact with the infected birds have also been reported to be in good health but are taking no chances.
A total of 31 members of the CGA are ordered to take their body temperatures twice a day and to report on where they had gone during the day. They will continue to do so for the next 5 days, said the CGA.
9 health workers from BAPHIQ who took part in destroying the animals had all followed the necessary precautionary procedure before boarding the ship such as wearing protective clothing and masks as well as undergoing a sterilization process. Nevertheless, their health condition will be monitored by the Center for Disease Control and local health authorities in the coming days.
"There is no need for the BAPHIQ workers to be quarantined as they had already taken precautionary measures," said BAPHIQ section chief Chiang Hsien-tsong.
Despite discovering Taiwan's 1st case of the deadly bird flu, BAPHIQ Director General Sung Hua-tsong said that people should not panic.
"We are still not listed as an infected country since the virus was stopped outside of our borders and have not entered the country," said Sung.
As smuggled products have been on the rise in Taiwan, so has the risk of the nation being infected by contagious viruses carried by animals. BAPHIQ said that it has destroyed 81.68 tons of animal products smuggled from abroad this year as well as 5146 animals, including 5070 birds.
BAPHIQ called on the public not to bring live animals or their related products from abroad and to report to authorities any suspicion of smuggling activities.
[Byline: Stephen Che]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The above reports carried some significant features: (1) the illicit consignment from an endemic zone (China in this case) was intercepted by the coast guard on a ship prior to landing in Taiwan; (2) the content of the H5N1-infected cargo was effectively destroyed and precautionary measures were taken to protect all the concerned parties; (3) genetic characterization of the H5N1 virus isolated from this incident showed that it shared 96 percent homology with the virus derived from yet another smuggled consignment of ducks in Kinmen (just offshore of the Fujian province of China, but governed by Taiwan) from China during the 2003 SARS period; (4) the virus isolated shares 99 percent homology with the H5N1 virus currently circulating in Fujian; and (5) H5N1 virus was found in Japan in a shipment of frozen duck meat from Shandong province of China in 2003 (see archive 20050714.200 . - Mod.RY]
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