A strain of avian influenza virus identified as H5N3 has been detected in Taiwan during a widening investigation of a bird flu outbreak on poultry farms around Taiwan, according to animal inspection authorities.

Focus Taiwan reports that it is the first time that the H5N3 strain was found in Taiwan, according to the Council of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

Since the avian flu outbreak was first reported last week, three new strains of bird flu viruses, including variants of H5N2 and H5N8, have been discovered in Taiwan, the bureau said.

As of the evening of 15 January, 137 poultry farms had been inspected and samples had been collected for laboratory testing. The latest results showed that 101 of the farms were infected, and the H5N3 virus was found at two of them.

Further Reading

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