Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) will hold a large exercise
on October 19 in which health, customs and transportation officials
will simulate fighting an outbreak of avian influenza, COA
officials said on Sunday.
According to reports from Taipei, participants will simulate
killing affected birds, burying or burning the culled birds, and
managing their own health risks, according to officials.
As the highly infectious disease has been detected in recent
years in various parts of the world, mainly in East Asia, the COA
said Taiwan must increase its preparations against a possible
epidemic caused by the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.
There have already been many deaths in East Asia from H5N1
caught from birds, but it is thought that transmission of the
strain between people is difficult.
Taiwan health experts warned that if the virus mutates into a
strain that can not only jump to humans but be passed from person
to person, it could cause widespread chaos and heavy
casualties.
In Europe, the H5N1 strain was confirmed in Turkey and Romania
last week and both countries are slaughtering thousands of birds to
prevent its spread, according to Reuters on October 15.
The Chinese mainland and other countries in the region have
already reported cases of H5N1 and now is the season for migratory
birds, which have been identified as spreading the virus to local
populations of domestic and wild fowl, to pass through Taiwan on
their journey south, officials said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2005)