Avian Flu Diary: Taiwan: Another Avian Flu `Incident'

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Taiwan, which is positioned roughly 100 miles off the Chinese Mainland and beneath one of the most active migratory (East Asian-Australian) bird flyways, has a long and checkered history of dealing with both HPAI and LPAI avian flu.

With more than 23 million people and 6,000 poultry farms crammed into an area the size of the state of Maryland, they are forced to take farm biosecurity very seriously.

Over the years we've seen multiple HPAI subtypes turn up on this island nation, including H5N1, H5N2, H5N5, H5N6, H5N8, and H5N9, along with the co-circulation of LPAI H6N1 and H9N2 (both of which are zoonotic threats).

Taiwan's pig industry has also been threatened by ASF (African Swine Fever), both from floating pig carcasses dumped on the Mainland, and by the smuggling of contaminated pork products from China.

Taiwan's APHIA (Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Administration) - formerly BAPHIQ - is the lead agency on biosecurity, and in the past we've seen them deal with a variety of threats (see here, here, here, here, and here).

Those with long memories will recall that in January of 2015 HPAI H5N8 arrived in the island nation of Taiwan - immediately spun off several reassorted HPAI H5 subtypes - and together infected more than 1,000 farms over the next 12 months.

That fall, as desperate poultry farmers lobbied for vaccines, Taiwan's Council Of Agriculture strongly Warned Against the Importation & Use Of AI Vaccines.

Beyond the illegalities, the HPAI H5 viruses in Taiwan originated from Korea, and were expected to be a poor match to the Chinese R5 vaccine.

In 2017, we learned of a smuggling operation, which was caught trying to bring in hundreds of `wine bottles' filled with an illegal (and `sketchy') poultry vaccine (see BAPHIQ photo below) from the Mainland.

At the same time that was going on (see Taiwan's Counterfeit AI Vaccine Trade), Taiwanese police arrested 9 people accused of making and selling counterfeit pig vaccines. At least 7,800 vials of this fake porcine vaccine had been sold to 32 farmers, and nearly 400,000 pigs had been injected.

Not only were these vaccines diluted to the point of being useless to prevent porcine circovirus (PCV), they were also contaminated with bacteria, and many of the vaccinated pigs died.

This story gets worse, as it was also revealed that those arrests lead to an even larger investigation into counterfeit poultry vaccines. According to multiple reports (see here, here, and here), the scheme involved the illicit collection of blood from (supposedly) previously infected and recovered poultry at a slaughterhouse.

The harvested blood was reportedly `centrifuged', and the serum collected - and after adding antibiotics and `other drugs' - injected as a vaccine.

It isn't clear how many birds already received this fake vaccine, but enough of this witch's brew to vaccinate 500,000 birds was recovered by authorities.

According to this YouTube video of the premises, this operation was conducted under absolutely squalid and primitive conditions, and the resultant `vaccine' appears to have undergone absolutely no testing for purity, contents, or strength.

Once again, in December of 2018, we saw Taiwan: Arrests In Another Counterfeit Avian Flu Vaccine Scheme, where Taiwan's media reported on the arrest of several college professors who are accused of manufacturing, and selling, illicit AI poultry vaccines.

This (translated) report from the China Times.

Private bird flu vaccine sold, 6 professors of Jiada University were accused

December 21, 2018 19:11 Zhongshi Hong Rongzhi

Professor Zhang Xing, Assistant Professor of the Department of Bio-Agricultural Science and Technology of Chiayi University, and Professor Guo Xing, from the Department of Veterinary Medicine, were accused of illegally manufacturing avian flu and other vaccines in cooperation with the biotechnology industry in the absence of the approval of the Council of Agriculture. Duck farmers and other duck farmers are playing.

After the investigation by the Tainan District Inspection Office, on the 21st, in accordance with the Law on the Administration of Animal Drugs, a total of 6 people from Zhang, Guo, biotechnology and large duck farmers were prosecuted.

This sordid history serves as prelude to the following (translated) report from APHIA today on the seizure of a large quantity of illegal Chinese poultry vaccines, which were (reportedly) purchased from a Chinese online shopping website.

The Agency for Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (AAPHIQ) has seized illegal avian influenza vaccines and urges poultry farmers not to illegally sell, transfer, or use them.
115-02-02

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Administration (APHIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture stated that on July 24, 2025, the APHIA, in cooperation with the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office, directed the Changhua Investigation Team of the Coast Guard Administration, Ocean Affairs Council, and the Yunlin County Animal and Plant Disease Control Center to conduct an operation to seize illegal animal drugs. Searches were conducted at the residences and cargo terminals of suspected individuals in Yunlin County, resulting in the seizure of 1,356 bottles of suspected illegally imported avian influenza (avian influenza) vaccines and waterfowl parvovirus vaccines, among other prohibited animal drugs.

The individuals involved were taken in for questioning. On February 20 of the same year, the Keelung Customs Office of the Ministry of Finance and the Keelung Branch of the APHIA intercepted a shipment of 530 bottles of suspected avian influenza vaccines, which were about to be imported. The suspects admitted to importing them from mainland China. The investigation into the source of the aforementioned illegal avian influenza vaccines and waterfowl parvovirus vaccines, among other prohibited animal drugs, will continue. The Yunlin District Prosecutors Office has filed charges against the suspects in accordance with the law.

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Media reports indicate that twice last year the accused placed orders on Taobao to purchase H5N1 poultry vaccines, and had them disguised as `floor cleaner' and `drain cleaner' to evade customs checks.

And perhaps more importantly, it is far from clear whether these were current, quality-controlled, Chinese state-sanctioned products. Nor is it clear how many doses (if any) were sold or used in Taiwanese poultry.

The investigation is apparently ongoing.

Sadly, the world is awash with counterfeit drugs and medical devices, many of which are sold no-questions-asked by online retailers (see The Lancet: WHO Estimates That 50% Of Drugs For Sale Online Are Fake).

These products aren't just ripping off billions of dollars from consumers each year, they contribute to rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR), they may leave some people inadequately treated for potentially serious diseases, and they may even be lethal in their own right.