Taiwan has reported five bird flu cases in the first two weeks of 2017, with a total of 60,000 fowl culled, the island's animal and plant inspection authority said Saturday.
In the latest case, the H5N2 avian flu virus was confirmed Saturday in a chicken farm in Yunlin county, where 16,632 chicken were killed to prevent further infection.
All the five cases were reported in Yunlin, a major chicken supplier in Taiwan.
The authority demanded farm owners to strengthen ventilation and sanitation work, and report unusual deaths of chicken to authorities in a timely manner.
Farm owners will receive compensation for culling poultry if they proactively report anomalies, while cover-up will lead to a fine of up to 1 million New Taiwan dollars (31,685 U.S. dollars), said the authority.
