Hong Kong market shuts amid bird flu fears
Monday, 18 June 2007
HONG KONG, June 17 (AFP): A bird market in Hong Kong has been closed down amid fears of an avian flu outbreak after a starling tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.
Authorities said yesterday the market, a popular tourist attraction, would be shut temporarily for thorough cleansing and disinfection and workers placed under medical surveillance.
All the birds at the pet shop where the starling was found have been taken away for testing.
Infectious diseases expert Lo Wing-Lok said the market was a "smoking gun."
Around 60 per cent of the H5 flu samples found in Hong Kong this year were discovered near the market, he told the South China Morning Post.
Hong Kong was the scene of the world's first reported major bird flu outbreak among humans in 1997, when six people died.
Authorities said they had stepped up their surveillance of the area surrounding the market after several birds found dead tested positive for the deadly flu strain.
A health department spokesman warned the public to be on alert.
The department has set up a hotline to provide health advice to anyone who has visited the market, popularly known as the Bird Garden, or had close contact with birds in the area.
It advised anyone who developed respiratory symptoms to seek medical advice from the nearest public hospital as soon as possible.
More than a dozen wild birds have been found dead in Hong Kong this year with H5N1, which has killed almost 200 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003.
Authorities said yesterday the market, a popular tourist attraction, would be shut temporarily for thorough cleansing and disinfection and workers placed under medical surveillance.
All the birds at the pet shop where the starling was found have been taken away for testing.
Infectious diseases expert Lo Wing-Lok said the market was a "smoking gun."
Around 60 per cent of the H5 flu samples found in Hong Kong this year were discovered near the market, he told the South China Morning Post.
Hong Kong was the scene of the world's first reported major bird flu outbreak among humans in 1997, when six people died.
Authorities said they had stepped up their surveillance of the area surrounding the market after several birds found dead tested positive for the deadly flu strain.
A health department spokesman warned the public to be on alert.
The department has set up a hotline to provide health advice to anyone who has visited the market, popularly known as the Bird Garden, or had close contact with birds in the area.
It advised anyone who developed respiratory symptoms to seek medical advice from the nearest public hospital as soon as possible.
More than a dozen wild birds have been found dead in Hong Kong this year with H5N1, which has killed almost 200 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003.