10,000 pigs, chickens killed in Chiayi village; clean-up help sought

Wang Kun-hong, mayor of Jhuci township, pointed out that a local farmer, who owned 4,500 breeding pigs and 12,000 piglets, lost more than two thirds, or as much as 8,000-9,000, of his stock to the flood, amounting to scores of millions of Taiwan dollars in losses.

Some of the piglets survived the flood only to die from starvation as they lay beside their drowned mothers, Wang said after visiting the farm after the water subsided.

Due to the large amount of dead pigs, pig farmers and the township had asked the military to help clean the area before the hot summer temperatures increase the chance of infectious diseases.

Jhuci township, which also saw the death of 10,000 chickens in the storm, will also ask health authorities to assist in disinfecting the area to prevent the spread of disease.

The Cabinet-level Department of Health (DOH) organized two emergency teams Sunday to help with disinfection and epidemic prevention in flood stricken areas.

Several central and southern counties have been deluged by record rainfall from Typhoon Morakot in the past couple of days.

Fearing epidemic outbreaks in the flood disaster zones, the DOH directed two of its agencies — the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) — to assign teams to assist with the work of disinfection and epidemic prevention.

“BNHI and CDC staff members will first collaborate with health officials from Pingtung County, the hardest-hit region, to educate flood victims on the importance of maintaining proper personal hygiene and disinfecting their living environment, as part of the post disaster work,” said a DOH official.

As part of its emergency operations, the official said, the CDC has urgently allocated 20,000 cans of disinfectant for distribution in the county's most seriously battered townships.

Health officials will step up publicity campaigns to remind residents in flooded regions to clear standing water in order to prevent outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, the official added. Local residents are also urged to report to the CDC any cases of infectious diseases or problems with epidemic prevention, the official said.

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