A strain of bird flu identified as H5N3 was detected at two goose farms in southern Taiwan's Pingtung and Kaohsiung counties, the island's agriculture authorities said on Friday.

A goose farm in the far south of Pingtung was confirmed to have been hit by the H5N3 virus on Thursday, with all of its 2,000 geese dead. The virus was also found in another poultry farm in Kaohsiung, where 333 geese have been culled, agriculture authorities said in a statement.

It is the first time for the H5N3 strain to be detected in Taiwan. Three strains of bird flu virus, including variants of H5N2 and H5N8, have been confirmed since the avian flu outbreak was reported last week.

According to the statement, 36 more poultry farms in Taiwan were found to be infected with avian influenza as of 6 p.m. Thursday, bringing the total number of affected farms on the island to 101. Culling of poultry has been carried out on 44 farms.

Official statistics show that 39 of the farms had the H5N2 virus, while 23 were hit by the H5N8 virus, with the remaining 39 affected by the H5 strain of the bird flu virus.

The first case in the latest outbreak was confirmed on Jan. 9, when birds at a chicken farm in Pingtung were found to have been infected by the H5N2 virus.

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