(1) Strengthening prevention of avian influenza

The COA continued to test the samples collected from poultry farms, slaughterhouses, pet birds, and migratory (wild) birds for avian flu, conducting a total of 55,128 tests in 2018. We also implemented stronger sample testing measures during the time period of greater vulnerability to an outbreak of winter avian influenza, including for (i) birds at higher risk for avian influenza including ducks, native chickens, layer hens, and breeding chickens and (ii) poultry farms within a five kilometer radius of high-risk wetlands. We confirmed 98 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 2018 (a reduction of 46% compared to 2017), culling 690,801 birds. Moreover, on November 12, 2018, the COA’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine founded the “Research Center for Control and Prevention of Avian Influenza,” utilizing new technologies to upgrade early warning and response mechanisms, and providing scientific evidence to support Taiwan’s disease prevention strategies.

Taiwan has already notified the World Organization for Animal Health that outbreaks of H5N3, H5N8, and H5N6 subtypes of HPAI have ended, and that Taiwan is actively working to eradicate the sole remaining subtype (H5N2) in the country.

(2) Strengthening prevention of rabies

In 2018 the COA conducted 1,219 tests on dogs, cats, and wild animals, with 110 cases of ferret-badgers being confirmed as being infected with rabies. These confirmed cases were detected in 84 townships in nine cities or counties. We continued to promote rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats to establish an immune barrier. To reach our goal of a 70% vaccination rate, the overall booster amount reached 739,712 doses in 2018. People who failed to get their pets vaccinated as required by law were fined in 88 cases. In order to reduce the risk that rabies could spread to dogs and cats, the COA conducted evaluations of rabies prevention work in cities and counties, strengthened management of dogs and cats at the source, strengthened health education and guidance, stored up vaccines, did personnel training, and did R&D work on an oral rabies vaccine for ferret-badgers, in order to reach our goal of controlling rabies.

(3) Strengthening prevention of classical swine fever (hog cholera)

Classical swine fever (hog cholera) is classified as a “Type A” infectious disease under Taiwan’s “Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease.” In order to prevent a classical swine fever outbreak in Taiwan, in 2018 the COA, acting in accord with the “Regulations of Required Vaccines and Their Management for Elimination of Classical Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease” (hereafter the “Management Regulations”) stipulated that pigs must be vaccinated against classical swine fever according to a preset schedule. Based on data from the Animal Health Research Institute, there have been no confirmed cases of classical swine fever in Taiwan since 2007. In order to ensure animal welfare, it is expected that the “Management Regulations” will be amended in 2021 to ban the use of lapinized hog cholera vaccine (which is currently sold on the market), so that as of the coming into effect of these amended “Management Regulations” on January 1, 2022, only two types of vaccines can be used in Taiwan: (i) hog cholera tissue culture vaccine, and (ii) E2 genetically modified subunit vaccine.

(4) Implementing monitoring, early warning, and prevention of harmful organisms

In 2018, the COA conducted monitoring and surveying for major organisms harmful to plants, including rice blast, bacterial leaf blight of rice, brown planthopper, and corn thrips, on 5,503 occasions. Based on the results of these surveys, we issued 68 early warnings and alerts for rice blast, lychee stink bugs, and other infestations, and through the “Field-Side Assistance” system sent out 33,786 emails, 26,097 text messages, and 8,723 faxes to remind farmers to take notice and prevent these organisms from causing harm to their crops. In addition, a total of 3,759 diagnostic cases were brought to a conclusion at 26 “diagnostic consultation service stations.”

(5) Preventing invasion by major diseases and insect pests from abroad

The COA amended the regulations governing inspection and quarantine for the importation of animals, plants, and their products in response to the international epidemic status. We conducted quarantine inspection on 213,962 batches of plants and their products. Our 47 quarantine detector-dog teams intercepted over 61,000 batches of illegal agricultural products, totaling 70 metric tons. Also, the COA destroyed 371 smuggled live poultry birds, 474 smuggled fertilized eggs, and 1.8 metric tons of smuggled livestock and poultry products.

The COA dispatched staff to Turkey to conduct verification of (i) production sites and (ii) the effectiveness of the proposed quarantine treatment, for cherries. We also conducted our annual quarantine audit in production areas in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Chile, and South Africa (for apples), Japan (for fresh fruits that can play host to the peach fruit moth), Thailand (for betelnuts), Vietnam (for white-flesh dragon fruits), mainland China and Japan (for pear scions), the Netherlands and Chile (for lily bulbs), the Netherlands (for anthurium nursery stock), and Australia (for carrots). In addition the COA dispatched staff to France, the US, Paraguay, Japan, Chile, and Honduras to conduct audits of meat products.