Three dead chickens tested positive for bird flu in Hong Kong, prompting the city to suspend poultry imports for 21 days and begin slaughtering 80,000 birds, an official said Tuesday.
"We feel that Hong Kong is facing a new alert for bird flu," said York Chow, secretary for food and health.
Chow said the chickens, found Monday at a farm with 60,000 birds, had the H5 virus and further tests were being done to see if they had the deadly H5N1 strain.
The farm and neighboring poultry operations were declared part of an infected zone, and about 80,000 birds in the area would be killed to prevent the spread of the disease, Chow said.
He added that the 21-day ban on poultry imports would last through the Christmas holiday, a time when chicken is an important dish in celebratory dinners.
HONG KONG (AFP) – More than 80,000 chickens will be culled in Hong Kong after bird flu was found in a poultry farm, the first outbreak in a farm here in nearly six years, health authorities said Tuesday.
"We have discovered up to 60 dead chickens in that farm. After a series of tests we have confirmed this morning that the chickens did die from the H5 virus," health secretary York Chow told reporters.
Hong Kong to cull 80,000 chickens after H5 outbreak
09 Dec 2008
Source: Reuters
HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong health authorities said on Tuesday they would cull 80,000 chickens after a batch of chickens were confirmed to have the H5 birdflu virus.
The H5 birdflu strain is a low pathogenic avian influenza. Experts fear the more deadly H5N1 strain, which remains mainly an animal disease but has infected humans, could mutate to a form that spreads easily among people.
Hong Kong's Health Secretary York Chow said the affected farm was in Hong Kong's northern Yuen Long district near the border with China, which reported the unusual deaths of 60 chickens on Monday.
"After a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from the H5 virus," Chow told reporters, adding three dead chickens were tested and 20 faeces samples were taken.
Chow also said that he had raised the alert status of avian flu to "serious" with immediate effect.
He said all 80,000 chickens within a 3 km radius of the farm would be destroyed. The last outbreak at a Hong Kong farm occurred in early 2003, Chow added.
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Re: Hong Kong reports bird flu outbreak
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Hong Kong to cull 80,000 chickens after H5 outbreak
09 Dec 2008
Source: Reuters
HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong health authorities said on Tuesday they would cull 80,000 chickens after a batch of chickens were confirmed to have the H5 birdflu virus.
The H5 birdflu strain is a low pathogenic avian influenza. Experts fear the more deadly H5N1 strain, which remains mainly an animal disease but has infected humans, could mutate to a form that spreads easily among people.
Hong Kong's Health Secretary York Chow said the affected farm was in Hong Kong's northern Yuen Long district near the border with China, which reported the unusual deaths of 60 chickens on Monday.
"After a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from the H5 virus," Chow told reporters, adding three dead chickens were tested and 20 faeces samples were taken.
Chow also said that he had raised the alert status of avian flu to "serious" with immediate effect.
He said all 80,000 chickens within a 3 km radius of the farm would be destroyed. The last outbreak at a Hong Kong farm occurred in early 2003, Chow added.
Unfortunately, the avian influenza in Hong Kong will be H5N1 HPAI, as further tests will confirm.
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People come and go, but the creative force of great historical events, as well as important ideas and actions remain. (Aleksandr Romanovic Lurija, 1976)
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Hong Kong reports H5 bird flu cases
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong top health official confirmed here Tuesday that a chicken farm at the New Territories had reported cases of the H5 avian influenza virus.
"Three dead chicken found at a chicken farm at Yuen Long district were H5 positive after our laboratory tests," York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said in a press conference.
It was Hong Kong's first case of H5 infection this winter and health authority has raised its vigilance level to "serious" after the suspected bird flu cases.
Chow said the HKSAR government had declared the areas within 3 kilometers near the farm an "epidemic spot" and ordered the culling of about 80,000 chickens located in the areas.
Two farms in the areas have been closed after the H5 cases and health authority had decided to suspend the imports of live poultry into the city and the trading of live poultry for 21 days starting Tuesday.
"Those staff in close contact with live poultry in the farms are in good health now without any syndromes of H5 infection," Chow said, "but we will closely monitor the situation."
He said the Food and Health Bureau had noticed all hospitals in the city to be on high alert and must report timely the possible suspected human cases of bird flu infection.
"I also call on the public to remain vigilant and keep their personal hygiene," he added http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_7287379.htm[/font]
HK orders bird slaughter amid new avian flu fears BIRD FLU
Lai Ying-kit
6:15pm, Dec 09, 2008 Hong Kong health officials on Tuesday afternoon ordered the slaughter of more than 90,000 live chickens after H5 bird flu virus was found in a local farm. It was the first outbreak reported in the city in nearly six years.... http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP...ng+Kong&s=News
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Authorities in Hong Kong ordered about 80,000 chickens killed Tuesday after discovering dozens of birds had died of bird flu at a farm in the territory.
The order requires all chickens within a 3 kilometer (2-mile) radius of the farm where the dead chickens were discovered Monday to be culled, said Dr. York Chow, Hong Kong's food and health secretary.
"We have discovered up to 60 dead chickens in that farm. After a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens did die from the H5 virus," Chow told reporters.
One other farm is affected by the order, he said.
Health officials worldwide have long feared a major human outbreak of the H5N1 flu virus, which has infected numerous bird species in Asia, Europe and Africa. The disease has been passed from poultry to humans in some cases, resulting in more than 200 deaths since 2003.
Human-to-human transmission of avian flu is rare, but officials worry it could mutate and become a deadly pandemic.
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong health authorities said Tuesday they would slaughter 80,000 chickens after three dead birds tested positive for the H5 avian-flu virus. The outbreak, Hong Kong's first in six years, raises fresh questions about the city's efforts to prevent bird flu.
The news could also hit public sentiment as the financial center struggles with the economic impact of the global slowdown. The city, a special administrative region of China, fell into recession in the third quarter, and the city's leader warned this week that the territory faces a difficult 2009.
"Hong Kong is facing a new alert for bird flu," York Chow, Hong Kong's secretary for food and health, said Tuesday at a press conference, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Chow said the chickens were found Monday on a farm with 60,000 birds that has since been designated an infected zone. He added that Hong Kong would suspend poultry imports for 21 days and begin slaughtering 80,000 birds.
Officials said they hadn't yet determined if the virus they found was the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has proven deadly for humans. Still, the outbreak raises questions about how birds at the farm were infected.
Yi Guan, a microbiologist and avian flu expert at Hong Kong University, said Hong Kong has some of the highest safety standards in the region but warned of "leaking holes" in the system. "We have a high-tech biosecurity system," Mr. Guan said. "But how the farmer runs the farm is another story."
Mr. Guan said it would take scientists "a couple of days" to determine the particular strain of the virus, but warned that several strains within the H5 family of viruses could pose threats to humans.
In June, a routine inspection of an outdoor food market turned up five cases of avian influenza, spurring officials to slaughter chickens and suspend supplies of live chickens from local and mainland Chinese farms for three weeks. An investigation was launched to determine the source of that outbreak, but a government spokeswoman said Tuesday that the source of June's outbreak had "posed some difficulties" and wasn't yet determined.
So far, the disease's impact has been muted by its inability to easily pass from human to human. Since 2003, it has infected 383 people in 15 countries, including China, Indonesia and Vietnam, according to the World Health Organization. Of those confirmed cases, 63% have proved fatal. Scientists worry that the flu could mutate into a tougher and more contagious form.
Hong Kong has seen occasional bird-flu incidents but no major outbreaks since 1997, when the virus killed six people and led to a slaughter of the territory's 1.5 million birds. There are currently about 60,000 birds in Hong Kong, according to Hong Kong's government, which is discouraging vendors from selling live chickens.
The incident comes at a time of heightened scrutiny on food safety in the region. Hong Kong officials have been scrutinizing the city's food supply for signs of melamine, a toxic chemical that has been found in milk products and eggs from the mainland. Mr. Guan, the Hong Kong University microbiologist, said now would be a good time to review current safety standards.
"After this event, we will go and check to see whether the system is good or not, or if it can be improved," Mr. Guan said. "I think that will be the next topic to discuss." Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com
2 hrs 50 mins ago
HONG KONG (AFP) – More than 80,000 chickens will be culled in Hong Kong after bird flu was found in a poultry farm, the first outbreak in a farm here in nearly six years, health authorities said Tuesday.
"We have discovered up to 60 dead chickens in that farm. After a series of tests we have confirmed this morning that the chickens did die from the H5 virus," health secretary York Chow told reporters.
Unfortunately, the avian influenza in Hong Kong will be H5N1 HPAI, as further tests will confirm.
Yes, H5N1 is detected in wild birds at this time of year in Hong Kong. Bird watchers and conservationists have tried to blame religious ceremonies in the past (wild birds as victims), which release birds in January. However, in the past few years the H5N1 was detected too early to blame religious ceremonies.
Last year the H5N1 was the same clade 2.3.2 / 2.3.4 that subsequently appeared in whooper swans in Japan (as well as outbreaks in South Korea and Russia) in the spring.
This year the clade may be different because of clade 0 at Qinghai Lake over the summer, but there is little doubt that it will be H5N1 (with 60 dead chickens on the farm).
Hong Kong to cull 80,000 chickens after H5 outbreak
09 Dec 2008
Source: Reuters
(Adds details and quotes)
HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong health authorities raised the city's avian flu alert to "serious" on Tuesday after some chickens at a farm were confirmed to have the H5 birdflu virus, prompting the cull of 80,000 chickens.
The H5 birdflu strain is a low pathogenic avian influenza. Experts fear the more deadly H5N1 strain, which remains mainly an animal disease but has infected humans, could mutate to a form that spreads easily among people.
Hong Kong health authorities did not rule out the possibility the virus might be H5N1, pending further tests.
The city's Health Secretary York Chow said the affected farm was in Hong Kong's northeastern Yuen Long district near the border with China, which reported the unusual deaths of 60 chickens on Monday.
"After a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from the H5 virus," Chow told reporters, adding three dead chickens were tested and 20 faeces samples were taken.
Officers clad in masks, white medical suits and black rubber gloves began the mass culling of some 80,000 birds at the farm on Tuesday afternoon, and were shown stuffing piles of chicken carcasses into black bin bags.
Chickens at a second nearby farm would also be culled.
The scenes were reminiscent of previous mass cullings in 1997 and 2001, when the H5N1 virus prompted the slaughter of over one million birds each time. In the 1997 outbreak, six people died.
"The deaths (of the chickens) weren't on a mass scale like before but more scattered deaths. So far, not that many died," said Wong Yi-chuen, who worked at one of the stricken farms.
A precautionary three-week ban on poultry imports was also imposed to contain any potential spread of the virus.
"We will ban all the outlets of all chickens from our farms for 21 days and also suspend all the imports of chicken and poultry including birds for the next 21 days," Chow added.
All 80,000 chickens within a 3 km radius of the farms would be destroyed, along with some birds at a wholesale market, he added.
While Chow said the last birdflu outbreak at a Hong Kong farm occurred in early 2003, in June authorities found H5N1 at a poultry stall in one of the city's many wet markets which led to the culling of 2,700 birds.
Anti-avian influenza measures have been implemented following the confirmation 60 chickens on a Yuen Long farm died from the H5 virus.
Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow elevated the avian flu alert status to 'serious' today after the confirmation of the positive test results on the farm's birds which died yesterday.
The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has declared the affected facility as the index farm. All chickens within a 3km radius will be considered infected. The farm has 80,000 chickens which will all be culled. Another 10,000-plus chickens from the farm which have been taken to Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Market will also be killed.
The Government has banned the export of chickens from all Hong Kong farms and suspended all poultry imports for 21 days. The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department will clean retail areas and wholesale markets to prevent the virus from spreading. The Centre for Health Protection will examine the farm's owners and staff who have not yet developed symptoms.
Dr Chow said as Hong Kong is facing a new avian flu alert the public should be more vigilant against the virus, calling on people to ensure good personal and environmental hygiene.
Hong Kong last had an outbreak on a farm in February 2003, showing the Government's prevention measures have generally been working well. However, Dr Chow said he is very concerned about the factors leading to this new outbreak as the first chickens to die were those which had not been vaccinated. The incident is being investigated.
By Donny Kwok
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong health authorities raised the city's bird flu alert level to "serious" Tuesday after the H5 virus killed dozens of chickens at a farm, prompting the cull of 80,000 birds.
Laboratories in the city were now trying to determine the precise identity of the virus. A leading expert said it was likely to turn out to be the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, which turns up regularly in flocks in Asia, parts of Europe and Africa. "It's highly likely it's the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain because others (other H5 strains) don't kill chickens like this. But this has to be confirmed," virologist Malik Peiris at the University of Hong Kong said.
Although H5N1 is mainly a disease among birds, it may mutate into a form that spreads easily among people.
If that happens, it could trigger a pandemic and kill millions. Even in its current hard-to-catch form, H5N1 has infected 387 people since 2003, killing 245 of them.
The city's Health Secretary York Chow said the affected farm was in Hong Kong's northern Yuen Long district near the border with China, which reported the unusual deaths of 60 chickens Monday.
"After a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from the H5 virus," Chow told reporters, adding three dead chickens were tested and 20 faeces samples were taken.
CULLING
Workers clad in masks, white medical suits and black rubber gloves began the mass cull of some 80,000 birds at the farm on Tuesday afternoon, and were shown stuffing piles of chicken carcasses into black bin bags.
All chickens within a 3 km radius of the farm will be destroyed, along with birds at a wholesale market, Chow said.
Chicken farms in Hong Kong observe strict biosecurity measures to prevent disease and cross-infection between species, and chickens are vaccinated against the H5N1.
It was not immediately known how the chickens became infected. "It could be injection (of the virus) from wild birds. These (incidences) increase in winter. But it is not the only possibility," Peiris said.
The scenes were reminiscent of previous culls in 1997 and 2001, when the H5N1 virus prompted the slaughter of more than one million birds each time. In the 1997 outbreak, six people died.
Chow also ordered a precautionary three-week ban on poultry imports to contain any potential spread of the virus.
"We will ban all the outlets of all chickens from our farms for 21 days and also suspend all the imports of chicken and poultry including birds for the next 21 days," Chow added.
The last bird flu outbreak at a Hong Kong farm occurred in early 2003.
(Additional reporting by James Pomfret and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
(AP) Three dead chickens tested positive for bird flu in Hong Kong, prompting the city to suspend poultry imports for 21 days and begin slaughtering 80,000 birds, an official said Tuesday.
"We feel that Hong Kong is facing a new alert for bird flu," said York Chow, secretary for food and health.
Chow said the chickens, found Monday at a farm with 60,000 birds, had the H5 virus and further tests were being done to see if they had the deadly H5N1 strain.
The farm and neighboring poultry operations were declared part of an infected zone, and about 80,000 birds in the area would be killed to prevent the spread of the disease, Chow said.
He added that the 21-day ban on poultry imports would last through the Christmas holiday, a time when chicken is an important dish in celebratory dinners.
Hong Kong's biggest bird flu outbreak was in 1997, when the H5N1 strain jumped to humans and killed six people. That prompted the government to slaughter all 1.5 million poultry in the territory.
In 2001, the government also carried out a massive poultry slaughter, killing 306,000 birds in wholesale and retail markets and 951,000 in local farms to eradicate an outbreak of bird flu. The city now has 600,000 birds, Chow said.
At least 245 people have died of bird flu worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
Hong Kong's government has been encouraging retailers to stop selling live birds, and the majority of shops have given up their licenses to sell live poultry. But eating fresh chicken is an important part of the culture and many shoppers still want freshly slaughtered birds.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department culled 80,000 chickens suspected of bird
2008-12-09 21:27:00
漁護署下午開始到元朗流浮山鳳降村兩個雞場，和長沙灣批發市場，撲殺逾八萬隻懷疑感染H5禽流 感活雞。 Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department began in the afternoon to Lau Fau Shan Fung Kong Tsuen, Yuen Long of the two farms, and Cheung Sha Wan wholesale market, killing more than 80,000 suspected H5 avian influenza infection in chickens. 本港的禽流感應變級別即時提升至嚴重級別，同時禁止本地農場出雞和內地入口活雞廿一日。 Hong Kong's avian-level sensors change immediately upgraded to serious levels and at the same time ban on chicken from local farms and imported live chickens from the Mainland 21. 港人今年冬至將無活雞吃。 Hong Kong people this year, the winter solstice will be no live chickens to eat. 食物及生局局長周一嶽表示，元朗鳳降村一個雞場爆發禽流感，場內先有種雞死亡，及後場內的十多隻無打疫苗 哨兵雞及部分有打疫苗的雞也相繼死亡，數目約有六十隻。 Food and Health Secretary York Chow said Fung Kong Tsuen, Yuen Long farm of a bird flu outbreak, the first on-site chicken deaths, and on-site after the fight with only a dozen vaccines are part of the sentinel chickens and vaccination of chickens also Have been killed and the number of about 60. 當局抽取死雞及雞糞樣本化驗，並在早上證實對H5禽流感呈陽性反應。 Administration and chicken samples taken from dead chickens tested and confirmed in the morning of the H5 bird flu positive.
漁護署首日在雞場銷毀六萬隻活雞 Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on the first day of farms in the destruction of 60,000 chickens
[09/12 星期二21:32] [21:32 Tuesday 09/12]
元朗一個農場爆發禽流感病毒，農場方圓三公里列為疫區，區內兩個農場八萬隻雞，以及長沙灣批發市場剩餘的一 萬多隻活雞要全部銷毀，政府禁止全港農場的雞隻進出，及禁止活家禽入口二十一日，冬至會無活雞賣；當局又將 警戒級別，由戒備提升到嚴重，漁護處會到所有雞場抽取樣本化驗，加強監察。 A farm in Yuen Long outbreak of bird flu virus, as a three-kilometer radius of the farm areas in the region of two 80,000 chicken farms, as well as the Cheung Sha Wan wholesale market for the remainder of the more than 10,000 live chickens to be destroyed, the ban on farms in Hong Kong The chickens in and out, and the ban on the import of live poultry on the 21st, the winter solstice will be no sale of live chickens; the authorities will alert level from elevated to a serious alert, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will all chicken farms to take samples for testing, and monitoring.
漁護署首日在雞場銷毀六萬隻活雞，因應爆發禽流感，醫管局宣布公立醫院在防備禽流感的級別，提升至嚴重應變 級別。 Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on the first day of farms in the destruction of 60,000 chickens, in response to the outbreak of bird flu, the Hospital Authority announced that public hospitals at the level of preparedness for avian influenza, and to enhance the level of serious strain. 急症病房的探訪時間，限制為每日不多於四小時，及每次不超過兩名探訪人士；而療養及復康病房的探訪時間為每 日不超過六小時，每次不超過兩名探訪人士，而位於雞場三公里半徑範圍內的元朗公園百鳥塔，就即時關閉，直至 另行通告。 The emergency ward visits, limited to no more than four hours a day, and no more than two-per-person visits; and convalescence and rehabilitation wards of the daily visits of not more than six hours, each no more than two visits , And the farm is located three kilometers radius of the Yuen Long Park Aviary Pagoda, the real-time closed until further notice.
Guangdong to suspend live poultry supplied to Hong Kong, Mainland
2008年12月09日21:30 来源： 新华网 At 9:30 p.m. on December 9, 2008 Source: Xinhua
Reporters from the Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Bureau was informed that in accordance with the General Administration of Quality Supervision emergency notification requirements, since 9, Guangdong to suspend live poultry, including Mainland live chickens, pigeons and chicks to Hong Kong, and so on, time to be suspended for 21 days, chilled poultry Hong Kong will not be affected.
据香港食物及卫生局通报，７日下午，位于香港新界的一个存栏６万只的活禽饲养场突然出现近百只种鸡和哨兵鸡 不正常死亡现象。 According to the Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau bulletin, 7 pm, at a New Territories of Hong Kong population of 60,000 live poultry farms, nearly all of a sudden emergence of sentinel chickens and chicken only abnormal phenomenon of death. 经香港渔护署当晚对死鸡样本进行Ｅｓｐｌｉｎｅ试纸条和荧光ＰＣＲ快速检测，以及接种鸡胚病毒分离后，已确 诊为感染Ｈ５型禽流感病毒。 Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on the night of samples from dead chickens Espline piece of paper and fluorescent PCR test for rapid detection as well as chicken vaccination virus isolation, has been diagnosed as infected with H5 avian influenza virus.
自２００３年以来，香港对本地活禽饲养场一直保留“哨兵鸡”的监察制度。 Since 2003, the local live poultry farms in Hong Kong has retained the "sentinel chickens" monitoring system. 此次在哨兵鸡中检测发现禽流感病毒，是继今年６月６日香港街市的死亡鸡只中分离到禽流感病毒后，又一次拉响 了香港禽流感“警报”。 The sentinel chickens in the detection of avian influenza virus was found, is the second this year on June 6 death of chickens in Hong Kong markets in isolated avian influenza virus, Hong Kong has once again sounded a bird flu "alert."
目前已转入冬季，也是禽流感高发期。 Is now into winter, bird flu is also a high rate. 针对近来境外不断发生的禽流感疫情，广东检验检疫局紧急部署各项防控应对工作，要求各地检验检疫部门加强对 辖区供港澳活禽注册饲养场的巡查，加大疫情监测力度，同时要求各口岸加强来自香港旅客携带的禽类产品查验， 防止疫情从口岸传入。 Recently, for continuing outside the bird flu epidemic, Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine to prevent and control the deployment of emergency response work around the requirements of inspection and quarantine departments to strengthen the area of live poultry for Hong Kong and Macao registered to inspect the farms, and increase efforts to monitor the epidemic and at the same time Port asked to carry passengers from Hong Kong to strengthen the inspection of poultry products to prevent the epidemic from the incoming port.
HK reports first H5 bird flu cases on local farm in 6 years
HONG KONG, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Dead chicken found at a Hong Kong farm have tested positive for the H5 strain of the avian influenza virus, which were the first confirmed bird flu cases on a local farm in about six years, health authority said Tuesday.
"Three dead chicken found at a chicken farm at Yuen Long district were H5 positive after our laboratory tests," York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, told a press conference.
The alert level for bird flu has been raised to level "serious", he added.
Chow said two chicken farms in the areas have been closed down following the H5 cases and the HKSAR government has declared the areas within 3 kilometers of the affected farm an infected place and ordered the culling of about 80,000 chickens on the two chicken farms as well as on live poultry markets in the affected areas.
Health authority has decided to suspend the imports of live poultry to the city and the trading of live poultry on local markets for 21 days starting Tuesday.
"Those staff in close contact with live poultry in the farms are in good health now without any syndromes of H5 infection," Chow said, "but we will closely monitor the situation."
The Food and Health Bureau had put all local hospitals on high alert and require them to report timely the possible suspected human cases of bird flu infection.
"I also call on the public to observe personal hygiene," he added.
The Leisure and Cultural Services also announced on Tuesday the temporary closure of the Aviary Pagoda, or a bird watching site, in Yuen Long Park, which is within 3 km of the affected chicken farm as a precautionary measure.
Health staff have also been dispatched to clean certain local markets.
Chow said the local health authority has yet to make further tests to decide whether there has been any mutation in the strain of the bird flu virus involved.
The deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed many people worldwide over the past decade, in addition to leading to the culling of millions of domestic birds. Scientists worry that a mutation in the virus could enable its transmission from human to human, thereby leading to pandemic that could potentially kill millions.
Hong Kong has recently seen cold and dry weather conditions, in which the bird flu virus is typically more active, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong said, adding that the risks of the bird flu cases spreading to retail markets were low. Hong Kong has been on high alert against a potential bird flu outbreak in the past years, with precautionary measures and an alert system that responds quickly. It has been trying to retrieve some of the live chicken trading licenses over the past months and centralize the processing of live chicken before they hit the market.
Secretary for Food and Health:
We cannot confirm this yet, but according to the facts received, there are also chickens with vaccination affected. So we have to investigate on both, whether the virus has changed or whether the vaccination has changed the immunity of them.
Reporter:
... or any changes of the...?
Secretary for Food and Health:
We cannot conclude in just a couple of days. Usually, virus sequencing would take actually a few days, or up to two or three weeks before we can be certain. We will be doing more tests on this virus and we are also working with the Hong Kong University on this.
(...)
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__________________
GIMI69 (IRONOREHOPPER)
--
People come and go, but the creative force of great historical events, as well as important ideas and actions remain. (Aleksandr Romanovic Lurija, 1976)
-- A TIME'S MEMORY (Blog) ATTRAVERSO QUESTI GIORNI (Blog) tracciatore_traccia@libero.it
H5N1 On Hong Kong Farm
Recombinomics Commentary 11:55
December 9, 2008
"We have discovered up to 60 dead chickens in that farm. After a series of tests we have confirmed this morning that the chickens did die from the H5 virus," health secretary York Chow told reporters.
The above comments strongly suggest that the confirmed H5 on the farm in Hong Kong will be H5N1. Hong Kong has strict control measures which keep H5N1 out of farms, and this is first case in six years.
However, H5N1 is detected in wild birds in Hong Kong at this time of year. In past years bird conservation groups have tried to link the annual outbreaks to religious ceremony release of birds, but in the past few years the outbreaks have been too early in the season to link to religious groups (and prior linkages were simply based on pure speculation, although the speculation was widely distributed by ProMED).
Recently, sequences from last years outbreak were released. The H5N1 was the Fujian strain (clade 2.3), but some isolates were clade 2.3.4 while others had a clade 2.3.2 HA and clade 2.3.4 for other genes. This reassortant subsequently appeared in the spring of this year in whooper swans in northern Japan, as well as outbreaks in South Korea and southeastern Russia, firmly linking the Hong Kong outbreaks to migratory birds and defining transport along the East Asian flyway.
However, this season the H5N1 in Hong Kong could be clade 0, which was detected in a fecal sample at the Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve this summer.
Release of sequence data from the Hong Kong outbreak would be useful. India has also reported a massive outbreak in Assam, which has been attributed to wild birds, and that outbreak is also early in the season, which may be signaling continued record outbreaks as seen in India, Bangladesh, and South Korea in the 2007/2008 season.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
Hong Kong H5N1 Alert Raises Vaccine Concerns Recombinomics Commentary 13:15
December 9, 2008
Hong Kong last had an outbreak on a farm in February 2003, showing the Government's prevention measures have generally been working well. However, Dr Chow said he is very concerned about the factors leading to this new outbreak as the first chickens to die were those which had not been vaccinated. The incident is being investigated.
The above comments from the Hong Kong alert raise concerns over the vaccine status of the H5 fatal infections of 60 chickens on a Hong Kong farm. Hong Kong had a major outbreak in 1997, which lead to human fatalities, and after a series of poultry outbreaks, instituted strict controls. Consequently, there have been no reported H5N1 outbreaks on farms in Hong Kong since 2003.
However, H5N1 in wild birds in Hong Kong has been reported at this time of the year for the past several years, raising concerns of a significant H5N1 reservoir, which has been kept off Hong Kong farms due to protective measures, which includes vaccination.
Consequently, the death of 60 chickens has led to the culling of over 80,000 and has raised vaccine concerns. There have been outbreaks in adjacent Guangdong Province, and concerns about failed vaccinations were also raised.
The earlier outbreaks in wild birds involved the Fujian strain (clade 2.3), which included clade 2.3.4 and 2.3.4/2.3.2 reassortants. Clade 2.3.2/2.3.4 reassortants were also identified last spring in northern Japan, Southeast Russia, and South Korea. The South Korean outbreak was the largest reported to date and included a symptomatic soldier/culler who was H5 PCR confirmed. Similarly, earlier Guangdong outbreaks were also linked to human cases in Shenzhen in 2006 or a case in 2008.
Thus, the latest outbreak in Hong Kong, which is almost certainly H5N1, raises additional vaccine issues and human infections in the area. Similarly, these outbreaks in the Hong Kong regions also raise concerns about the lack of reports of H5N1 infections in China.
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"The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
A University of Hong Kong investigation into the bird flu outbreak at four wet markets earlier this year has found that vaccines used locally are failing .
。 He said Hong Kong had been detected in wild birds and chicken stalls in the market samples of the bird flu gene is H5NI, but the vaccine in Hong Kong in 2001, the use of H5N2, it is also not surprising that failure to start the vaccine。
He suggested that the Government discuss with the mainland authorities in Hong Kong can follow the example of the use of the Mainland H5NI vaccine to prevent bird.
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Hong Kong - Poultry/animals/wild birds H5N1 Dec. 18, 2008 +
Re: Hong Kong reports bird flu outbreak
BIRD FLU
Re: Hong Kong reports bird flu outbreak
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