April 16, 2014
Taiwan''s cattle farms hit by bovine ephemeral fever
Taiwan''s animal health officials have reported a suspected outbreak of bovine ephemeral fever that has struck cattle farms in Tainan, with 246 suspected cases, or about 1% of the area''s cattle population, reported over the past week.
In order to reduce losses and stem the disease''s spread, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said it has alerted cities and counties to step up quarantine measures and is also helping farm owners quarantine affected cattle and eliminate mosquitoes.
The bureau reported that 60 out of 101 cattle farms in Tainan had reported a total of 246 cattle suspected of having the fever, with 31 of them dying.
The Tainan City Animal Health Inspection and Protection Office warned that with the rainy season approaching, the population of vector mosquitoes, which spread the disease, is expected to increase, putting unprotected cattle at risk.
The office also said that if cattle farms have failed to give their cattle five doses of a vaccine over the past two years and not set mosquito traps, the disease could be highly contagious.
The disease has existed in Taiwan for more than a dozen years and is most prevalent between April and October. The symptoms include fever, drooling, bronchitis and pneumonia. If not treated in time, the affected cattle can die in days. After a cow is infected with the disease, the milk it produces will decrease in quantity and cannot be used.
Tainan suffered outbreaks of the fever in 2001 and 2004, resulting in heavy losses for cattle farm owners.
Wu Ming-pin, the deputy chief of the Tainan animal health office, said it has begun to disinfect cattle farms and get rid of mosquitoes at those locations.