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Hong Kong bans poultry from mainland supplier after avian flu case
After a man in Shenzhen died from the bird flu, the Autonomous Region bans poultry imports for three weeks from a local supplier. “It’s always the wild birds, then the poultry, then the humans,” expert says.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Hong Kong imposed a three-week ban on poultry from a supplier in Shenzhen, southern China, where a man, a bus driver, died from the H5N1 virus, the avian flu. The import of live, chilled and frozen poultry, and eggs, from within a 13-kilometer (8-mile) radius of the man’s home was suspended. The factory supplies an average of 5,000 frozen chickens and 2,000 geese and ducks to Hong Kong every day.
In Guangdong, authorities have tried however to hush up the problem. After saying that the man’s death was “highly suspicious” and probably connected to the bird flu, today they said they were unsure about any connection. Local authorities are afraid that another ban on food exports like that of several years ago might heavily affect the local economy.
Even though it is an isolated case, Hong Kong health authorities issued a warning and informed the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In the past ten years, southern China and Hong Kong have suffered from epidemics like the bird flu, foot-and-mouth disease, SARS and other infectious diseases. Since 2003, more than 500 people have been infected with the H5N1 strain worldwide, of those about 60 percent have died.
“It’s always the wild birds, then the poultry, then the humans,” Yuen Kwok-yung, chairman of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong’s department of microbiology, said. Nevertheless, “The system of surveillance in Hong Kong works very well,” Yuen explained.“You should not be unduly concerned but you really have to be careful and obey some simple measures” like food imports and airport controls for people coming from risk areas.
Chinese New Year, which is set for 23 January, is raising concerns as well. Traditionally, poultry is the main course during the celebrations that mark the end of the year. Poultry from southern China is usually exported across much of Asia.