_|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

[Giuseppe]

Hong Kong shuts down market after chicken tested H5N1 positive
2008-06-07 15:58:33 Print

HONG KONG, June 7 (Xinhua) --

Hong Kong health authorities closed down a poultry market here Saturday after egesta samples collected from hencoops in the marketplace were infected with the deadly strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health, announced at a press conference here Saturday afternoon that the Po On Road Market in Kowloon an infected area of the H5N1 virus and ordered the immediate suspension of trading in the market.

He said the Department of Food and Health had began slaughtering about 2,700 chickens in the market and all live poultry imports from the Chinese mainland were suspended.


Editor: Du Guodong
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http://rss.xinhuanet.com/newsc/english/2008-06/07/content_8325254.htm

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[Treyfish]

Re: _|HK PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Hong Kong Detects H5N1 Virus, Closes Poultry Market (Update2)

By Hanny Wan
June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong detected the H5N1 bird flu virus in a live poultry market in Kowloon, and stopped importing poultry from mainland China, the city's top health official said.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in five of 20 samples taken from three stalls at Po On Road Market, York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health, said at a media briefing in Hong Kong, broadcasted by Cable TV. The samples were taken on June 3, he said.
The city ordered the culling of 2,700 chickens in all nine stalls at the market, Chow said. The chickens may have come from local poultry farms or outside Hong Kong, he said, adding that the city's government is trying to track down their origin.
``If more H5N1 cases are detected, we will probably need to cull all chickens in all markets in Hong Kong,'' Chow said. The city's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has stepped up checks at 64 local markets that sell poultry, he said.
Hong Kong, with immediate effect, banned poultry imports from mainland China, and will suspend exports from local farms for as long as 21 days, Chow said.
Concerns of a worldwide outbreak of lethal influenza have risen as the H5N1 virus spread from Asia to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The deadly strain may spark a global outbreak if it mutates to become as infectious to humans as seasonal flu.

Last Updated: June 7, 2008 04:35 EDT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...fer=healthcare

[Giuseppe]

Re: _|HK PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Hong Kong finds H5N1 bird flu in poultry market
07 Jun 2008 09:26:51 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Jeffrey Hodgson

HONG KONG, June 7 (Reuters) -

Hong Kong has found the feared H5N1 bird flu virus at a poultry stall in one of the territory's many markets and ordered the culling of 2,700 birds, a government spokeswoman said on Saturday.

The official said Hong Kong had banned poultry imports from mainland China for 21 days, as well as from local farms in the territory, while it worked to discover the source of the infection.

She added there had been no human infection detected.

The virus was discovered in the Po On Road market in the city's Sham Shui Po neighbourhood.

It is not the first appearance of the disease in the territory, with infected wild birds discovered in 2007.

Since the virus resurfaced in Asia in late 2003, it has killed 241 people in a dozen countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Although most people who have caught bird flu have had direct or indirect contact with infected fowl, experts fear the constantly mutating H5N1 virus could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person. This could sweep the world, killing millions.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK262272.htm

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[Commonground]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

[Asymptomatic chicken?]

HK culls 2,700 poultry after bird flu outbreak: report
Excerpt:

Routine bird flu checks detected the H5N1 virus in five samples of chicken waste. The samples were collected June 3 from three vendors in the market in the Sham Shui Po residential district, Chow said.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Asia/STIStory_245388.html

[Shiloh]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i...c-HQwD9156G000

Bird flu detected in Hong Kong market

By DIKKY SINN ? 22 minutes ago

HONG KONG (AP) ? Hong Kong health workers slaughtered 2,700 poultry in a market Saturday after chickens were found to be carrying the dangerous H5N1 bird flu virus, officials said.

The slaughter may be extended to all live poultry in the territory if the virus is detected in any other locations, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said.

"Since we have detected the virus in the market, we will cull all the chickens in this market," Chow told reporters. "If we find another positive detection in another market, then we will assume that the risk is much higher and we need to cull all the chickens in all the markets."

Hong Kong TV Cable showed health workers wearing protective gear placing live poultry from nine stalls into bags to prepare for the slaughter.

Routine bird flu checks detected the H5N1 virus in five samples of chicken waste. The samples were collected June 3 from three vendors in the market in the Sham Shui Po residential district, Chow said.

Health officials declared the market an infected area and suspended all sales of live poultry there, a government statement said.

Chow said authorities were tracing the origin of the infected chickens.

Chow also ordered a 21-day ban on the supply of live poultry from mainland China and from local farms.

Occasional H5N1 infections in wild birds are common in Hong Kong but the territory has not suffered a major outbreak of the disease since the virus killed six people in 1997.

That prompted the government to slaughter the territory's entire poultry population of about 1.5 million birds.

At least 241 people have died of bird flu worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

Most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds, but health experts worry the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among humans, sparking a pandemic that might kill millions of people.

[Shiloh]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_8325254.htm

Hong Kong shuts down market after chicken tested H5N1 positive
www.chinaview.cn 2008-06-07 15:58:33

HONG KONG, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong health authorities closed down a poultry market here Saturday after excrement samples collected from hencoops at the marketplace were confirmed infected with the deadly strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health, announced at a press conference here Saturday afternoon that the Po On Road Market in Kowloon an infected area of the H5N1 virus and ordered the immediate suspension of trading in the market.

Chow said after days of laboratory testings, five of the 20 excrement samples collected from three poultry stores on June 3 were confirmed H5N1 positive and an order was issued immediately to cull about 2,700 chickens in the market.

"We are still investigating the source of the H5N1 virus infections," he said, adding other 64 poultry markets had reported no H5N1 cases.

Chow said there has been no report of human case of H5N1 infections but the department had decided to raise the response level from "vigilance" to "serious" in the city.

In response to the latest H5N1 virus find, Chow said, the Food and Health Department had suspended immediately the live poultry imports from the Chinese mainland and trading from local chicken farms will be suspended immediately

He said such suspension will last for as long as 21 days if necessary.

Chow said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government had noticed the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on the latest development of bird flu in Hong Kong.

Chow said there had been no unusual incidents reported in the registered chicken farm in the Chinese mainland and none abnormal death of poultry had been reported by store owners during the past days.

Thomas Tsang, Controller of the Center for Health Protection, said the center would conduct health checkups and prescribe anti- virus medicine for those people in close contact with live poultry.

Tsang also called on doctors in the city to quickly report suspected cases of H5N1 infection to the center once they diagnose those patients with a fever.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said they would strengthen the testing of live poultry on the bird flu virus and disinfecting of poultry whole sale markets.

[Shiloh]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Source: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/h...607en05003.htm
June 7, 2008
Health
*
Bird flu virus found in market stalls

Po On Road Market has been declared an infected area after the H5N1 bird flu virus was found in five chicken dropping samples collected from three stalls.

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow today told reporters the affected stalls got the chickens from the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market. The birds may have come from local or Mainland farms.

Imports of live Mainland chicken will be suspended while local farms will stop selling chickens for three weeks to facilitate the Government's work in tracing the source of the infected chickens.

Precaution measures

The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department has cordoned off all the chicken stalls in the market and started culling the 2,700 chickens in it. Disinfection work will also be conducted.

The department has stepped up inspection of 64 markets with chicken stalls and no abnormality has been detected. More chicken dropping samples will be collected for tests.

The department will send staff to the Mainland to inspect registered farms supplying chicken to Hong Kong while more samples will be collected from local wholesale markets for tests.

The Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market will be thoroughly cleaned while the next poultry outlet rest day will be advanced from next Wednesday to Monday.

The Government will also step up checks on chilled poultry products and will enhance its inspection of retail markets and local poultry farms. The Customs & Excise Department will bolster its enforcement work against poultry smuggling.

Mainland authorities informed

Dr Chow said the incident has been reported to Mainland authorities and quarantine units have been asked to pay special attention to the registered farms supplying poultry to Hong Kong.

Although no human avian flu cases have been reported so far, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority will enhance prevention work.

The health of staff at the three affected stalls will be closely monitored. Public and private hospitals and clinics have been reminded to report suspicious cases to the Centre for Health Protection.

People with flu symptoms should seek medical advice immediately and a hotline (2125 1122) has been set up to handle enquiries.

People should avoid touching live poultry. They should wash their hands after touching the animals. Chickens should be thoroughly cooked before eating.

[Shiloh]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_6745109.htm

Chicken tested H5N1 positive in HK
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-07 21:32

HONG KONG - Hong Kong health authorities closed down a poultry market here Saturday after excrement samples collected from hencoops at the marketplace were confirmed infected with the deadly strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health, announced at a press conference here Saturday afternoon that the Po On Road Market in Kowloon an infected area of the H5N1 virus and ordered the immediate suspension of trading in the market.

Chow said after days of laboratory testings, five of the 20 excrement samples collected from three poultry stores on June 3 were confirmed H5N1 positive and an order was issued immediately to cull about 2,700 chickens in the market.

"We are still investigating on the source of the H5N1 virus infections," he said, adding other 64 poultry markets had reported no H5N1 cases.

Chow said there has been no report of human case of H5N1 infections but the department had decided to raise the response level from "vigilance" to "serious" in the city.

In response to the latest H5N1 virus find, Chow said, the Food and Health Department had suspended immediately the live poultry imports from the Chinese mainland and trading from local chicken farms will be suspended immediately

He said such suspension will last for as long as 21 days if necessary.

Chow said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government had noticed the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on the latest development of bird flu in Hong Kong.

Chow said there had been no unusual incidents reported in the registered chicken farm in the Chinese mainland and none abnormal death of poultry had been reported by store owners during the past days.

Thomas Tsang, Controller of the Center for Health Protection, said the center would conduct health checkups and prescribe anti- virus medicine for those people in close contact with live poultry.

Tsang also called on doctors in the city to quickly report suspected cases of H5N1 infection to the center once they diagnose those patients with a fever.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said they would strengthen the testing of live poultry on the bird flu virus and disinfecting of poultry whole sale markets.

[Giuseppe]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

SFH on avian influenza detected in Po On Road Market
Juje 7 2008, 14.18.30

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at Murray Building today (June 7):

Reporter:
Whether there will be a further culling of chickens?

Dr York Chow:
At this moment, since we have detected the virus in one market, we will cull all the chickens in this market, which has altogether nine stalls.

Although we have discovered the virus from three stalls, we will cull all the chickens in these nine stalls, which amounts to 2 700.

The most important thing is to trace where they came from if we can.

We have traced it to the wholesale market and the relevant stalls in the wholesale market, and perhaps also to the relevant farms.

This is the work that we are doing right now.

The second thing is we want to make sure that the public will not be affected, or if they are really affected by the avian influenza they would be detected and treated early.

And that is the reason why the Centre for Health Protection has heightened their alert and appealed to the public to approach them if they have any symptoms of influenza after contacted with chickens.

As I have explain earlier, our existing guideline is if there is one detection of H5N1 in one market, we will cull the chickens in that market; but if we found another possible detection in another market, we assume the risk is much higher and we need to cull all the chickens in all the markets.

Reporter:
Is there a breakdown in the surveillance? And you've vaccinated all the chickens in the market and why now you've found virus in the market?

Dr York Chow:
You are talking about two things.

Actually we are very grateful that we have such a strong surveillance that enables us to detect the virus in the market this time.

You are talking about whether the biosecurity and the vaccination policy of our poultry are functioning, and that is exactly what the concern is all about.

We cannot tell until we have done all the investigation and check where these chickens came from, and whether these farms have complied with all our requirements on vaccination and biosecurity measures.

So, we really have to trace to the source of this virus before we can tell whether there is any change in the virus.

Reporter:
How long will it take?

Dr York Chow:
We are doing everything in full speed right now.

We'll be also analyzing the genetic make up of virus to see if there are any changes.

Reporter:
Is it safe to eat chickens right now?

Dr York Chow:
As far as chicken is concerned, we still allow chilled chickens to come into Hong Kong.

The risk, according to experts, is related to any chicken which is sick.

Whatever way you handle chicken, you should observe personal hygiene first, wash your hands after contacted with chickens, and cook the chicken thoroughly before you eat.

I'll ask Dr Thomas Tsang to speak more on this.

Dr Thomas Tsang:
Chilled chicken, because the virus cannot replicate in these chilled chickens, so it's relatively safe.

As always, our health advice is: cook all meat, especially raw meat, thoroughly before you eat because the virus cannot stand high temperature.

Right now we are targeting our surveillance at the affected market, particularly those stalls we've found virus.

So if anybody has bought chicken in that market and they feel uncertain of what to do, they can call our hotline at 2125 1122, we'll have medical personnel to address this specific concern.

Reporter: Will you advise vaccination for seasonal flu at this point? Dr Thomas Tsang: It's actually two different things. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against avian influenza, so we are not talking about vaccination against avian flu. The most important thing to prevent avian flu is to observe good personal hygiene, wash your hands frequently and avoid touching live poultry as much as possible. Reporter: Would this incident make it more desirable to go for central slaughtering? Dr York Chow: We are always saying that the segregation of human and live poultry is important to prevent avian flu. So, whatever has happened this is something we have planned ahead and is progressing right now. At the moment, the plan is for 2011-2012. This is the fastest we can do according to the existing way of planning, building and also tendering. Reporter: Why genetic sequencing is important? Dr York Chow: Genetic sequencing is important of course to see whether the virus has transformed into any new type of virus which has different pathogenesis. This is the sort of routine tests that we will do if we found any possible virus in the environment. Reporter: (on increase chicken imports during festive periods) With hindsight, is this a good decision? Dr York Chow: We did that every year for four seasonal periods, including the Tuen Ng Festival. This year's increased number is no different from previous years. I think we have to investigate into the whole incident, particularly the source of the chickens, before we make any decision for the next time. We also concern about the whole biosecurity and vaccination programmes as a whole. So, we are not ruling out any increase at the moment. Reporter: The biosecurity and vaccination programmes at present, in English please? Dr Thomas Sit: Biosecurity measures and vaccination are both important keys to prevent avian influenza. Biosecurity measures aimed to prevent the introduction of virus or viruses from any wild birds or birds with unknown sources (to poultry). Vaccination is an important step in case the bird encounters viruses and he can be protected. Also, chicken is reared in flock. If all the chickens have public immunity, it can help to prevent the virus from spreading to other chickens. To this, biosecurity measures and vaccination are important. (Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript.)
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[Commonground]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

This was a routine check. The chickens did not display any symptoms. They found the virus in their stools. Notice below it does not say "appealed to public to approach if any symptoms after contacted with "chickens that died suddenly" or "chickens that appeared ill".

And that is the reason why the Centre for Health Protection has heightened their alert and appealed to the public to approach them if they have any symptoms of influenza after contacted with chickens.

You are talking about whether the biosecurity and the vaccination policy of our poultry are functioning, and that is exactly what the concern is all about.

We are doing everything in full speed right now.

We'll be also analyzing the genetic make up of virus to see if there are any changes.

[Commonground]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

"Routine bird flu checks" were mentioned in posts #4 and 5.

[Giuseppe]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

SFH on avian influenza detected in Po On Road Market
Juje 7 2008, 14.18.30

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at Murray Building today (June 7):

Reporter:
Whether there will be a further culling of chickens?

Dr York Chow:
At this moment, since we have detected the virus in one market, we will cull all the chickens in this market, which has altogether nine stalls.

Although we have discovered the virus from three stalls, we will cull all the chickens in these nine stalls, which amounts to 2 700.

The most important thing is to trace where they came from if we can.

We have traced it to the wholesale market and the relevant stalls in the wholesale market, and perhaps also to the relevant farms.

This is the work that we are doing right now.

The second thing is we want to make sure that the public will not be affected, or if they are really affected by the avian influenza they would be detected and treated early.

And that is the reason why the Centre for Health Protection has heightened their alert and appealed to the public to approach them if they have any symptoms of influenza after contacted with chickens.

As I have explain earlier, our existing guideline is if there is one detection of H5N1 in one market, we will cull the chickens in that market; but if we found another possible detection in another market, we assume the risk is much higher and we need to cull all the chickens in all the markets.

Reporter:
Is there a breakdown in the surveillance? And you've vaccinated all the chickens in the market and why now you've found virus in the market?

Dr York Chow:
You are talking about two things.

Actually we are very grateful that we have such a strong surveillance that enables us to detect the virus in the market this time.

You are talking about whether the biosecurity and the vaccination policy of our poultry are functioning, and that is exactly what the concern is all about.

We cannot tell until we have done all the investigation and check where these chickens came from, and whether these farms have complied with all our requirements on vaccination and biosecurity measures.

So, we really have to trace to the source of this virus before we can tell whether there is any change in the virus.

Reporter:
How long will it take?

Dr York Chow:
We are doing everything in full speed right now.

We'll be also analyzing the genetic make up of virus to see if there are any changes.

Reporter:
Is it safe to eat chickens right now?

Dr York Chow:
As far as chicken is concerned, we still allow chilled chickens to come into Hong Kong.

The risk, according to experts, is related to any chicken which is sick.

Whatever way you handle chicken, you should observe personal hygiene first, wash your hands after contacted with chickens, and cook the chicken thoroughly before you eat.

I'll ask Dr Thomas Tsang to speak more on this.

Dr Thomas Tsang:
Chilled chicken, because the virus cannot replicate in these chilled chickens, so it's relatively safe.

As always, our health advice is: cook all meat, especially raw meat, thoroughly before you eat because the virus cannot stand high temperature.

Right now we are targeting our surveillance at the affected market, particularly those stalls we've found virus.

So if anybody has bought chicken in that market and they feel uncertain of what to do, they can call our hotline at 2125 1122, we'll have medical personnel to address this specific concern.

Reporter:
Will you advise vaccination for seasonal flu at this point?

Dr Thomas Tsang:
It's actually two different things.

The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against avian influenza, so we are not talking about vaccination against avian flu.

The most important thing to prevent avian flu is to observe good personal hygiene, wash your hands frequently and avoid touching live poultry as much as possible.

Reporter:
Would this incident make it more desirable to go for central slaughtering?

Dr York Chow:
We are always saying that the segregation of human and live poultry is important to prevent avian flu.

So, whatever has happened this is something we have planned ahead and is progressing right now.

At the moment, the plan is for 2011-2012.

This is the fastest we can do according to the existing way of planning, building and also tendering.

Reporter:
Why genetic sequencing is important?

Dr York Chow:
Genetic sequencing is important of course to see whether the virus has transformed into any new type of virus which has different pathogenesis.

This is the sort of routine tests that we will do if we found any possible virus in the environment.

Reporter:
(on increase chicken imports during festive periods) With hindsight, is this a good decision?

Dr York Chow:
We did that every year for four seasonal periods, including the Tuen Ng Festival.

This year's increased number is no different from previous years.

I think we have to investigate into the whole incident, particularly the source of the chickens, before we make any decision for the next time.

We also concern about the whole biosecurity and vaccination programmes as a whole. So, we are not ruling out any increase at the moment.

Reporter:
The biosecurity and vaccination programmes at present, in English please?

Dr Thomas Sit:
Biosecurity measures and vaccination are both important keys to prevent avian influenza.

Biosecurity measures aimed to prevent the introduction of virus or viruses from any wild birds or birds with unknown sources (to poultry).

Vaccination is an important step in case the bird encounters viruses and he can be protected.

Also, chicken is reared in flock.

If all the chickens have public immunity, it can help to prevent the virus from spreading to other chickens.

To this, biosecurity measures and vaccination are important. (Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript.)
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http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/rss/general_en.xml

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Completed formatting texts

[Giuseppe]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

Samples in Po On Road Market tested positive of H5N1
June 7 2008, 16.35.10

The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, today (June 7) announced that five out of the 20 samples taken from cages of three poultry stalls in Po On Road Market in Sham Shui Po were tested positive of H5N1 avian influenza during the surveillance of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

There are nine poultry stalls in the Po On Road Market.

So far, no problem has been found in the other stalls of the market.

The live chickens of the three concerned poultry stalls were reportedly come from five wholesalers in the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market.

The Government is tracing the source of the chickens to see whether they are from local or Mainland farms.

In view of the H5N1 avian influenza virus found in local market, the Government has raised the original alert response level to serious response level.

Dr Chow convened an inter-departmental meeting this morning to work out measures to address the issue.

The concerned departments included the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Department of Health (DH) and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD).

The meeting had decided to adopt eight measures to protect public health.

These eight measures are:
(1) FEHD staff had to cordon off all poultry stalls in Po On Road Market this morning and prohibited the moving out of poultry. More samples had been taken for testing of H5N1 virus. The department had culled and destroyed about 2700 poultry from all the poultry stalls in Po On Road Market in the afternoon.

(2) In the morning, FEHD inspected 64 markets which have live poultry for sale and no abnormality was found. The staff of the department will take more samples for testing from these markets. If problems were detected in the coming one or two days, the Government would step up actions. More samples would also be taken at the wholesale market. AFCD would continue to trace the source of the chickens in question in the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market and strengthen cleansing in the market.

(3) Live chicken imports from the Mainland would be suspended temporarily with immediate effect. At the same time, local farms would stop dispatching chickens to the market. The suspension would be effective for as long as 21 days to facilitate the tracing of chickens and thorough disinfection. During the period of live chicken import suspension, FEHD would field staff to inspect Mainland registered live poultry farms for supply to Hong Kong.

(4) FEHD has enhanced surveillance of poultry retail markets. The market rest day would be advanced to next Monday (June 9). Meanwhile, FEHD would also strengthen checking and testing of chilled poultry imported from the Mainland. AFCD has stepped up inspection on local farms and wholesale market. Thorough cleansing would be conducted at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market next Monday.

(5) The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has notified the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Ministry of Agriculture of the case. They have been requested to demand the relevant inspection and quarantine bureaux to stay alert and take all necessary precautions to prevent avian influenza in registered live poultry farms for supply to Hong Kong.

(6) At the moment, there is no human case of avian influenza infection in Hong Kong. In view of the situation in Po On Road Market, it would be necessary to enhance testing of human infection of avian influenza. DH and the Hospital Authority would enhance the work on this front. Particular attention would be paid to the health condition of poultry workers in the affected market. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) has called on members of the public to seek medical treatment immediately if they have influenza symptoms such as high fever. Public and private hospitals as well as clinics should report to CHP immediately when there is any suspected case of avian influenza. In addition, CHP has set up a hotline 2125 1122 to answer public enquiries and monitor public health condition.

(7) The Government calls on members of the public to avoid contacting live chickens. After contacting live chickens, they should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water. Live chickens should also be thoroughly cooked before eating.

(8) The Customs and Excise Department would further step up efforts in cracking down on illegal import of poultry and birds. Dr Chow noted that the established surveillance enabled the Government to detect the occurrence of avian influenza virus in market so that swift actions could be taken to prevent the spread of the virus.

"If another case of avian influenza is found in other retail market in Hong Kong, the Government will cull all the chickens in the retail level," he said. Dr Chow reminded members of the public to pay extra attention to personal and environmental hygiene in guarding against avian influenza.
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http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200806/07/P200806070406.htm

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[rymich13]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

I knew one of these days that it would make it back to Hong Kong, after all it is where it all started back in 1997.

[Commonground]

Re: _|Hong Kong PRC SAR: H5N1 IN CHICKEN|_

[This article states there were "dead" chickens]

Hong Kong markets found that the H5N1 avian flu virus

June 7 - the Hong Kong Government today confirmed in the local market found that the H5N1 avian influenza virus cases, with immediate effect suspended imports of chickens in the Chinese mainland, local farms also suspended poultry exports to trace the source of bird flu.

The BBC reported that Hong Kong Secretary for Health and Food York Chow on Saturday (June 7) afternoon confirmed that the security authorities in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Road Market routine sampling and found three of the five chicken stalls with poultry faeces samples H5N1 virus, and the remaining six chickens and chicken stalls found no problems.
Dr Chow said that according to three chicken stall owners said that chickens from the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market, may come from the mainland or local farms, the authorities are locating the source of live chickens.

At the same time, Dr Chow said Hong Kong from China immediately suspended imports of live poultry in local farms also temporarily ban exports of live poultry. These two measures will continue the implementation of 21 days.

Hong Kong health and quarantine departments will in all poultry farms and markets carry out inspections. Dr Chow said that if found live birds infected with H5N1 virus, will be considered in the culling of all poultry.

Chickens found infected with the virus, the security markets will also be at the 2,700 chickens culled.

Dr Chow said the Hong Kong Government to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has informed the incident and links with the mainland relevant departments to follow up.

Testing found

Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department first issued on Saturday afternoon reported that the security markets, has been declared as infected areas, all live poultry must immediately stop the sale. The authorities posted notices at the scene indicated that markets were declared as "the bird flu virus infection place."

Live poultry traders said that the officers had arrived at the scene the morning sampling of live chickens and subsequently to all vendors that have sample questions for the suspension. Also admitted that the recent market traders found more dead chickens.

Responsible for the management of the markets of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in the sale of chickens, ducks and other poultry in the region pulling up the warning line, and wearing protective clothing of staff stationed, ready to cull all poultry in the destruction of the market.

Since Sunday (8) is the Tuen Ng Festival, some business and more into the goods, culling their chickens will lead to the loss of tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollar.

1997, Hong Kong has the world's first confirmed human infection cases of bird flu, the 2001 outbreak of a large-scale outbreak of bird flu. The Government then announced the culling of all poultry, and later also banned backyard poultry keeping people at home.

Human and poultry infection with the H5N1 avian flu cases and outbreaks in various parts of China and then in Asia, Europe and other places appeared one after another.

In addition, since Indonesia last month on the 14th an 15-year-old girl died of bird flu to become the first 109 people, the Indonesian Ministry of Health that, in order to improve the bird flu being the most heavy blow to the image, decided not to publish the news of avian flu . In the 33 provinces in Indonesia, there are 31 provinces bird flu.

According to WHO data, as at the end of May this year, around the world, including China, from a total of 348 confirmed human infections of H5N1 avian flu cases, of which 242 people died. @ (Http://www.dajiyuan.com)

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