Patients who turn up at Hong Kong's public hospitals with a high fever will have to be tested for bird flu, health chiefs ordered yesterday. The move comes after a local woman infected with the H5N1 virus was moved into intensive care as the city's health minister Dr York Chow Yat-ngok denied there had been a delay in her diagnosis. The 59-year-old woman, transferred to the intensive treatment unit of Princess Margaret Hospital on Wednesday, developed fever and pneumonia after a trip to the mainland from October 23 to November 1. Her condition has worsened so much that she now has difficulty talking and doctors believe she will soon need a ventilator to help her breathe. The woman began suffering from a fever from November 1 and sought help in Tuen Mun Hospital on November 12, but she was only admitted two days later when her condition deteriorated. She was confirmed to be infected with bird flu H5N1 on Wednesday. Five patients who shared the same ward with the woman before she was confirmed with the virus were placed under seven-day medical surveillance along with the woman's family members. So far, none of them has displayed flu symptoms. Asked if the woman should have been tested for bird flu and quarantined earlier, Chow, the secretary for food and health, said: 'The disease has not been seen in the community for a long time. It would be difficult for doctors to diagnose the condition immediately.' University of Hong Kong microbiologist Guan Yi said doctors should have been alerted when they knew the patient had blood in her phlegm. 'This symptom is special and if doctors knew it earlier, the woman could have been quarantined earlier for a day or two.' But he said that transmission of H5N1 between humans was weak. The head of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, said it was difficult to assess the risk this latest infection poses for Hong Kong at this stage. 'We have to wait to see if the enhanced surveillance picks up any other cases at the weekend. This is the first case in seven years. We should stay on high alert.' He said the case was likely to be an imported one, based on the patient's travel history and the incubation period of bird flu, which was normally between one and seven days. He said there was no need to cull all live chickens in the city as there was no sign of local outbreaks. Chow held an inter-departmental meeting yesterday on strategies to control infection. Public hospital patients who had travelled overseas or had a high fever would need to be tested for the H5N1 virus. Visiting hours at hospitals would be reduced. Monitoring on live chickens and birds would be stepped up. And 25 per cent more samples would be tested among chickens imported from the mainland. The Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department inspected 30 local chicken farms. Staff also obtained samples for testing at Bird Street in Mong Kok yesterday. Chicken farmer Lee Leung-kei said they always observed hygiene. 'We have not let our guard down since the flu's first strike,' he said. Chan Sau-kuen, a live chicken vendor at Kowloon City market, said sales were not affected. 'I have not heard one shopper saying they are worried. People know the case is imported and are not scared,' she said. Taking precautions The number of local chicken farms inspected by the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department: 30