Communication with Guangdong health authorities has been stepped up following the outbreak of bird flu in Hunan , the head of Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said.
The new outbreak in the central province came within a week of poultry outbreaks in Anhui and Inner Mongolia .
Leung Pak-yin said the concern was Guangdong would next see an outbreak of the lethal strain of H5N1 because of the path of migratory birds.
'We are seeing that migratory birds are coming down this route, from Mongolia then Anhui then Hunan. The next step is they will go down to Guangdong. Guangdong is a major supplier of poultry so it is a very essential part. They are very concerned about what is happening in Hunan,' he said.
Dr Leung said he had talked to Guangdong's Department of Health yesterday to ensure the lines of communication were open.
'I have told them that in case anything happens in Guangdong, they will inform us immediately.'
The Guangdong health department's emergency response office will also send a team to Hong Kong next Tuesday to meet the CHP, he added.
