Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) The government will step up monitoring of migratory birds in the wake of news that the Hong Kong authorities had confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in a dead chicken, a Council of Agriculture (COA) official said Wednesday. "We have not imported any poultry or livestock products from Hong Kong, but we will take precautionary measures out of public health concerns," said Huang Kuo-ching, deputy director of the COA's Bureau of Plant and Animal Health Inspection and Quarantine. York Chow, Hong Kong's secretary for food and health, said late the previous day that a dead chicken found in a wholesale poultry market had tested positive for the H5N1 virus. He announced that all trading of live poultry in Hong Kong will be suspended for the next 21 days and that all 17,000 chickens at the wholesale market will be culled. Responding to the reports, Huang said that the central and local governments will intensify their monitoring of migratory birds arriving in Taiwan as part of the efforts to prevent any spread of bird flu. Because of the higher-than-average temperatures so far this winter, the number of migratory bird arrivals is fewer than normal, Huang added. "Previous records show that the period from December to April the following year is the peak season for the arrival of migratory birds," Huang said. "In the past, we used to collect 3,000 to 4,000 samples of bird feces during the period annually for virus testing." In the wake of the detection of H5N1 flu strain in Hong Kong, Huang went on, the bureau has decided to collect at least 4,000 avian fecal samples by the end of next April. Moreover, he said, his bureau will direct city and county animal health offices to tighten monitoring and testing of fecal samples from aquatic poulty such as ducks and geese, as well as poultry such as laying hens and broiler chickens. "Animal health authorities in the country's major agricultural hubs, including Changhua, Chiayi and Yunlin counties, as well as Tainan and Kaohsiung, have been directed to go on heightened alert," Huang added. While migratory birds usually do not land in netted chicken farms, they could still come into contact with resident wild birds, which might contract the virus and then spread it to poultry farms, Huang said. "Against this backdrop, we will ask poultry raisers to intensify the disinfection of their facilities and mend any holes in their poultry nets," he added. (By Yang Shu-min and Sofia Wu)