A strain of avian flu virus identified as H5N3 has been detected in Taiwan. This is the first time that the H5N3 strain has been found in the country.
Animal inspection authorities said the virus strain was detected Friday during a widening investigation into a bird flu outbreak on poultry farms around Taiwan.
The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said that since the avian flu outbreak was first reported last week, authorities have discovered three new strains of bird flu virus in Taiwan. The virus strains include variants of H5N2 and H5N8.
As of 6pm Thursday, authorities had inspected 137 poultry farms and taken samples for laboratory testing. The latest results show that 101 of the farms had cases of infection. Nearly 200,000 animals have been culled.