Taiwan decided Thursday to slaughter 20,000 chickens after a strain of bird flu was discovered at a farm in the central part of the island, agricultural authorities said.

The strain of bird flu discovered at the farm was the H5N2 virus, a less virulent form of the H5N1 virus discovered in Vietnam.

The H5N2 virus is not fatal to chickens, and the main symptoms of those birds with the virus is low spirit and reduce production of eggs, officials with Taiwan agricultural authorities said.

The authorities decided to kill all of the 20,000 chickens on the farm in order to prevent mutation of the virus, saying there was no risk of the virus causing a mass infection of poultry passing to humans.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2004)