A popular public park in the centre of Sha Tin racecourse has been closed for a month after 31 ducks and geese died from H5 flu over the past two weeks.
Visitors to Penfold Park, one of Hong Kong's largest public recreation areas, have been advised to take precautions as authorities try to establish whether the strain is the dreaded H5N1 bird flu.
The Jockey Club last night insisted there was no danger to horses stabled at Sha Tin and said Sunday's International Races at the course would go ahead.
The detection of H5 came 10 months after the last outbreak of H5N1 and a few days after a University of Hong Kong team determined the exact killer qualities of the 1997 flu, attributing it to its ability to cause the body's immune system to attack itself, and the presence of a mutant gene.
University of Hong Kong microbiologist Malik Peiris, who led the team in the research and who is a member of the government expert flu taskforce, said last night it was unusual for waterfowl to die from H5 flu as they were natural hosts of influenza.
He said his laboratory would conduct genetic analysis on the flu strain to see if it is highly pathogenic.