Hong Kong officials Saturday banned all poultry imports from China and began killing thousands of chickens as bird flu was detected at a city market. All poultry in the city may be slaughtered in a repeat of the 1990 culls if cases are found in other markets in the former British colony, officials said.
The outbreak, the first in Hong Kong in recent years, was discovered at a livestock market in the city’s Shamshuipo district, the government said. The H5N1 bird flu virus was found on swabs on chicken faeces from the market in Po On Road which was Saturday declared an infected area and sealed off to the public. Workers in protective suits and masks began culling around 2,700 chickens in the market as tests were carried out on poultry at other markets in the city of 6.9 million to see if the outbreak had spread. More
Sphere: Related Content