Hong Kong Bird Flu Fowls Suspected to Be from China

Chickens forage at a chicken farm on in Nantong of Jiangsu Province, China. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Hong Kong authorities confirmed on Feb. 7, 2009 that H5N1 virus (“bird flu virus”) tests showed positive results in seven recently found dead birds. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said four of the seven birds, including three chickens and a duck, were in Lantau Island. The were found last week.

Though China has claimed that no cases of bird flu have been found in Guangdong Province that neighbors Hong Kong, Hong Kong has many reasons to suspect that most of the dead birds found in North Lantau originated from areas along Guangdong’s Pearl River.

Hong Kong media found many poultry farmers in suburban Shenzhen by the mouth of Pearl River. The farmers admitted that they never vaccinated their chickens, and revealed that many chickens have died recently. The farmers did not eat the chickens, fearing they may have died of bird flu. Instead, they threw the dead chickens into the sea, as they routinely do.

An investigation on Feb. 7 found no poultry farming in Lantau Island.

This year China has had eight human cases of bird flu with five deaths, compared to only three cases in  2008. The eight cases were found in seven different provinces, but Chinese authorities stated there were no bird flu outbreaks in these provinces.

Read original article in Chinese