ROC citizens traveling abroad should avoid direct contact with birds, wash their hands frequently and pay close attention to personal hygiene, the Department of Health said Dec. 21.
The DOH’s remarks came following an announcement by the Hong Kong government that a dead chicken infected with the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus had been found at a traditional market.
“The threat of a worldwide bird flu pandemic remains, and signs suggest that the risks are increasing,” the DOH said.
The Centers for Disease Control under the DOH said it was increasing its monitoring efforts at airports to prevent infected persons from entering Taiwan.
“If passengers coming from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao are found by airport screening stations to be running a fever, we will ask where they have traveled to and whether they have come into contact with birds,” said Chou Chih-hao, deputy director of the CDC.
Medical personnel sterilize a chicken coop in Taiwan. (CNA)The CDC urged all citizens to be careful when going to traditional markets, and said that chickens, ducks and geese, as well as the eggs of all poultry, should be thoroughly cooked before being consumed.
“Smuggling of birds is strictly prohibited in order to prevent the importing of the H5N1 virus,” the CDC said.
According to figures by the World Health Organization, there have been 57 documented cases of human beings contracting the H5N1 virus this year, with most of them being in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt and Indonesia.
There have been another 453 instances of animals being infected with the virus, mostly in Bangladesh, Japan and Vietnam. (HZW)
Write to Grace Kuo at morningk@mail.gio.gov.tw