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Mary Ann

Mary Ann Benitez

Patsy Moy

The slaughter of the SAR's 1.2 million-strong poultry stocks began yesterday and the Government banned the importation of live birds from the mainland as the bird flu outbreak intensified.

Authorities will close 64 poultry markets today in an attempt to thwart the 'acute and virulent' bird flu strain.

Hundreds of chicken deaths were reported yesterday at seven markets in Wong Tai Sin, Shamshuipo, Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun and Wan Chai, prompting the slaughter of 24,809 chickens.

Authorities said fresh chickens would not be available until mid-July at the earliest.

The slaughter, which will cost at least $80 million, was announced three days after about 800 chickens died from the new H5N1 strain at three local markets.

Government officials have been at pains to insist that this is a different H5N1 strain from the 1997 virus that killed six people.

Secretary for Environment and Food Lily Yam Kwan Pui-ying said 110,000 birds would be killed over the weekend in the rest of the SAR's markets and fresh provision stores.

In a two-week operation beginning on Monday, 1.06 million birds between 95 and 105 days old will be destroyed at all 207 chicken farms in the SAR. The final toll will be about 1.2 million chickens, geese, ducks, quail and other poultry.

Sales will be banned for four weeks after the killings and business will only return to normal after two weeks of test imports that will last until mid-July.

Local scientists have learned the new strain has the makings of a flu pandemic virus, if allowed to persist and mutate into a virus which could cross to humans.

Tests by a World Health Organisation flu laboratory in Memphis, Tennessee, showed the strain was a 'highly pathogenic' virus that could potentially cause disease in humans, said University of Hong Kong virologist Professor Ken Shortridge, whose team identified the strain.

The virus could have been 'smouldering' over the past six weeks in local markets, and was so 'highly mobile' that it spread in four different types of poultry without causing disease early this month, he said. He said it was still possible the virus had already mutated, creating a human flu virus. 'It is potentially a pandemic strain if it 're-assorts' with other viruses,' he said.

Mrs Yam said mainland authorities had been told to stop sending live poultry into Hong Kong. 'This is the second similar incident in four years - similar but not identical. The strain that we are dealing with . . . affects only chickens and birds. It does not affect human beings.'

Mrs Yam refused to say whether the outbreak represented a failure by her bureau. The bureau was set up last year by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in response to the 1997 bird flu crisis.

The source of the virus is still being traced. No infection has been found in local farms.

Professor Shortridge said the new virus was 'very tricky', and that chicken flu usually took some time to incubate and develop into a disease that killed birds.

No one knew how long it took for bird flu to develop to the stage where it could jump to humans as it did in 1997. But once it did so 'it would be very quick' in spreading among people, the professor said.

Dr Daniel Lavanchy, head of the World Health Organisation influenza programme, said the government action must have been well thought-out. 'It is clear from past experience it is very difficult to get rid of this virus,' he said from Geneva.

The Department of Health said some poultry workers had been tested for the virus, but none had symptoms. It has opened four outpatient clinics since yesterday to provide advice and a hotline on 2833-0111 has been set up. A spokesman said there was plenty of amantadine, the anti-bird flu medicine, in stock.

University of Hong Kong associate professor Malik Peiris said experimental vaccines against H5N1 had been made overseas and should be ready for licensing if the need arose.

Japan and Taiwan announced they were banning poultry imports from Hong Kong. Taipei would step up screening of air passengers from the SAR, officials there said.



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No fresh chicken available until mid-July; cull to cost $80m