Statement on the case of “UK confirmed H5N1 avian influenza virus found in a parrot from Suriname”
  Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (October 26, 2005)

1. According to the news release of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on October 21 and 23, 2005 (as attached), a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has been isolated in a parrot imported from Suriname to the U.K. on September 16, 2005. The birds were in quarantine with a consignment of birds from Taiwan. The closest match is a strain identified in ducks in China earlier this year. DEFRA’s working hypothesis is that any infection in the birds from Suriname is likely to have arisen in the quarantine system, most likely in the facility in Essex where the Suriname birds shared airspace with the birds from Taiwan. There are more tests underway on the birds from Taiwan.

2. Taiwan is free from HPAI. Poultry, birds and their products are prohibited to be imported into Taiwan from China and other HPAI infected countries. Coast Guard Administration and the Customs have been putting efforts continuously to crackdown on smuggling. The 185 birds exported to the U.K. on September 27, 2005 were healthy and in compliance with the quarantine requirement of the U.K. The consignment has been accompanied with a veterinary certificate issued by Taichung Branch of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ). Upon receiving the news release of the U.K., BAPHIQ has despatched animal health inspection officers to the farm of origin to examine the health status of the birds on October 22, 2005, and all the birds on the farm were healthy. Throat and cloaca swabs from the birds on the farm were sampled on October 25, 2005 for HPAI virus detection. The results were negative; indicating that the H5N1 virus isolated from the Suriname parrot by the U.K. in quarantine facility has no relation with the birds exported from Taiwan.

3. Because some doubtful points were found in the news release of the U.K., BAPHIQ has asked DEFRA to provide explanation regarding the following:
(1) The consignments from Suriname and Taiwan were imported into the U.K. on September 16, 2005 and September 27, 2005, respectively, why did the different consignments from different countries share the same airspace?
(2) The mortalities of the birds from Suriname and from Taiwan, the dates of mortalities found and the detailed diagnosis report.
(3) The quantaties of the consignment from Taiwan was 185, however, the news release No. 469/05 of DEFRA indicated that there were 216 birds exported from Taiwan.