TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Pingtung County Livestock Disease Control and Prevention Center culled 9,583 black feather native chickens in Yanpu Township on Thursday (Feb. 15).

County authorities were contacted on Monday (Feb. 12) by a farmer who reported abnormal deaths of his chickens. This report activated epidemic prevention mechanisms such as controlling the movement of chickens at the farm and the immediate disinfection of the farm and surrounding areas.

Additionally, specimens from both sick and healthy chickens on the farm were collected and sent for tests. By Wednesday (Feb. 14), a subtype of the H5N1 bird flu was confirmed to have infected poultry at the farm.

Livestock workers move quickly to contain bird flu outbreak. (Pingtung County Government)

Pingtung County Livestock Disease Control and Prevention Center Chief Lee Yung-wen (李永文) said the case was the first H5N1 bird flu confirmed in the county this year. Lee’s office started monitoring neighboring poultry farms within one kilometer of the site, and visits were made to other farms within three kilometers.

The in-person checks will give livestock authorities the chance to provide poultry farmers with guidance on how to protect against bird flu. It will also allow experts the chance to confirm the health status of poultry at surrounding farms.

Lee said cool nights and hot days over the past week could have caused stress for local poultry. He urged poultry farmers to pay more attention to insulating poultry farms and maintaining an even, constant temperature.

Poultry farmers have also been asked to implement access control, such as disinfection of personnel and vehicles entering and exiting poultry farms. Farmers are also asked to pay closer attention to the health of their poultry, with immediate reporting to authorities should any abnormalities occur.