TAIPEI, Jan. 10 -- Taiwan began culling 120,000 chickens after a strain of bird flu identified as highly pathogenic H5N2 was discovered in live chickens from a farm of the southernmost Pingtung county on Friday.

The culling which was conducted under surveillance was expected to be completed as of Sunday, according to a statement released by the authorities of Pingtung county.

Taiwan's agriculture authority said on Saturday that it has collected samples from 15 farms in three counties amid concerns that avian influenza might have spread from the chicken farm to other regions.

Samples from 15 duck and goose farms in Pingtung, Chiayi and Yunlin counties have been taken for test as the farms reported an abnormal drop in egg production and an increase in death numbers. The initial test results will be available on Sunday.

It was estimated that at least 3 million eggs from the chicken farm in Pingtung have found their way to the market since the first batch of chickens started dying, 300,000 of which were imported to Hong Kong.

It is learned that the H5N2 bird flu is not infectious to human.