https://www.scmp.com/rss/162879/feed Avian influenza - more commonly known as bird flu - is a disease caused by the influenza A virus. It is adapted to birds, but capable of crossing over to human beings, with the H5N1 variant being probably the best known. In 2023, the H3N8 variant killed a woman in China - making her the first person to die of this strain. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters The bird flu virus that has been spreading among wild birds, poultry and mammals could lead to a pandemic worse than Covid-19 if it mutates to transmit between humans, the head of France’s Institut Pasteur respiratory infections centre has said. The highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in the past few years, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices, though human infections remain rare. “What we fear is the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334464/bird-flu-could-risk-pandemic-worse-covid-if-it-mutates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334464/bird-flu-could-risk-pandemic-worse-covid-if-it-mutates?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 05:03:34 +0000 Reuters Reuters Bird flu is spreading rapidly in Europe, with the highest number of countries in at least a decade reporting early outbreaks, raising concerns about a repeat of past crises that led to the culling of tens of millions of birds and higher food prices. Meanwhile, Australian scientists have found hundreds of dead seal pups on Heard Island in the sub-Antarctic with signs that suggest they were killed by bird flu, authorities said on Friday. The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330251/bird-flu-spread-raises-fears-new-crisis-amid-scientists-investigating-deaths-seals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330251/bird-flu-spread-raises-fears-new-crisis-amid-scientists-investigating-deaths-seals?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:58:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil’s government has asked China to restrict its embargo on chicken imports to products just from the city of Montenegro, where the South American country last week registered an outbreak of bird flu on a commercial farm, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on Tuesday. On Friday, Brazil reported its first ever outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu, on a commercial breeding farm in Montenegro, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, prompting a scramble to trace the virus in the country, as well... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3311127/brazil-urges-china-limit-chicken-import-ban-city-bird-flu-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3311127/brazil-urges-china-limit-chicken-import-ban-city-bird-flu-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 May 2025 16:00:35 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil, the world’s largest poultry exporter, confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a commercial farm on Friday, triggering a ban on shipments to China and raising the prospect of restrictions from other trade partners. Brazil exported US$10 billion of chicken meat in 2024, accounting for about 35 per cent of global trade. Much of that came from meat processors BRF and JBS, which ship to some 150 countries. China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, are among... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3310720/brazil-worlds-biggest-poultry-exporter-confirms-bird-flu-outbreak-sparking-china-shipments-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3310720/brazil-worlds-biggest-poultry-exporter-confirms-bird-flu-outbreak-sparking-china-shipments-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 15:23:54 +0000 The United States reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another bird flu strain that has infected humans and caused egg prices to hit record highs. The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged flocks around the world, disrupting supply and fuelling higher food prices. Its spread to mammals, including dairy cows in the United States, has raised concerns among governments about a risk... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3302751/us-reports-first-outbreak-deadly-h7n9-bird-flu-2017?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3302751/us-reports-first-outbreak-deadly-h7n9-bird-flu-2017?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 20:47:36 +0000 The US has reached out to Denmark and other European nations asking if they can export eggs as Americans face surging egg prices, the Nordic country’s egg association said on Friday. The request from the US Department of Agriculture coincides with a raft of new US tariffs on countries, including in Europe, and the threat of more. US President Donald Trump has also threatened economic sanctions unless Denmark hands over control of Greenland to the United States. US wholesale egg prices are... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3302483/us-asks-denmark-eggs-prices-soar-how-many-can-you-send?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3302483/us-asks-denmark-eggs-prices-soar-how-many-can-you-send?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:51:12 +0000 A study published Thursday by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested that people could transmit bird flu to their domestic cats, with fatal consequences. Two household case studies from Michigan in May 2024 were published in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, as fears grew that the virus could mutate and cause a human pandemic. Since then, it has also emerged that cats can be infected by pet food contaminated with the virus – and it can spread between... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3299579/people-can-spread-bird-flu-their-cats-us-study-suggests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3299579/people-can-spread-bird-flu-their-cats-us-study-suggests?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2025 05:45:24 +0000 Robert F. Kennedy Jnr came under withering attack from Democratic senators on Wednesday over his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and his sudden embrace of anti-abortion policies during a high-stakes confirmation hearing to become US President Donald Trump’s health secretary. The 71-year-old Kennedy scion and former environmental lawyer is vying to lead a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a US$1.7 trillion budget, just as scientists warn of the growing threat of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296746/trumps-health-pick-rfk-jnr-grilled-over-vaccines-and-abortion-us-senate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296746/trumps-health-pick-rfk-jnr-grilled-over-vaccines-and-abortion-us-senate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jan 2025 22:02:20 +0000 British health authorities said they had detected a case of bird flu (H5N1) in a person in central England. The person acquired the infection on a farm, where they had close and prolonged contact with numerous infected birds, the UK Health Security Agency said. The risk to the wider public continues to be very low, it added. Meanwhile, the United States has reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296498/uk-confirms-rare-human-case-bird-flu-us-reports-first-h5n9-outbreak-poultry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296498/uk-confirms-rare-human-case-bird-flu-us-reports-first-h5n9-outbreak-poultry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jan 2025 14:57:30 +0000 The first US bird flu death has been reported – a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalised with severe respiratory symptoms. State health officials announced the death on Monday, and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed it was the nation’s first due to bird flu. Health officials have said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock. They also said a genetic analysis had suggested the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3293663/first-us-bird-flu-death-reported-louisiana-state-health-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3293663/first-us-bird-flu-death-reported-louisiana-state-health-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2025 22:44:59 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification A domestic cat in Oregon in the United States recently died from H5N1 bird flu after consuming cat food contaminated with the virus. The incident has raised concern among cat lovers around the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3293343/two-measures-help-improve-cat-health-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3293343/two-measures-help-improve-cat-health-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2025 03:30:08 +0000 US President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration said on Friday that it will allocate US$306 million to bolster the nation’s bird flu response before president-elect Donald Trump takes office. The new funding will support national, state and local preparedness and monitoring programmes, as well as research into potential medical countermeasures against the H5N1 virus. “While the risk to humans remains low, we are always preparing for any possible scenario that could arise,” Health Secretary... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3293383/us-allocates-us306-million-new-bird-flu-funding-trump-takes-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3293383/us-allocates-us306-million-new-bird-flu-funding-trump-takes-office?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2025 18:10:58 +0000 The fate of a Canadian teenager who was infected with H5N1 bird flu in early November, and subsequently admitted to an intensive care unit, has finally been revealed: she has fully recovered. But genetic analysis of the virus that infected her body showed ominous mutations that researchers suggest potentially allowed it to target human cells more easily and cause severe disease – a development the study authors called “worrisome”. The case was published Tuesday in a special edition of the New... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3292989/worrisome-mutations-found-h5n1-bird-flu-virus-isolated-canadian-teen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3292989/worrisome-mutations-found-h5n1-bird-flu-virus-isolated-canadian-teen?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jan 2025 03:13:42 +0000 The continuing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts – not just because of human cases causing severe illness but also troubling new instances of infections in cats. A sample of the virus found in a critically ill patient in the United States has shown signs of mutating to better suit human airways, although there is no indication it has spread beyond that individual, authorities report. Earlier this month, officials announced that an elderly Louisiana patient was in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3292550/new-bird-flu-mutation-discovered-us-cat-infections-cause-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3292550/new-bird-flu-mutation-discovered-us-cat-infections-cause-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:22:05 +0000 An elderly patient in Louisiana is in “critical condition” with severe avian influenza, US authorities announced Wednesday, the first serious human case in the country as fears grow of a possible bird flu pandemic. The new case brings the total number of infections in the United States during the current 2024 outbreak to 61, as California declared an emergency in order to ramp up its response. Prior patients experienced mild symptoms and recovered at home. But the severity of the Louisiana case... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3291448/first-severe-human-case-bird-flu-us-sparks-alarm-california-declares-emergency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3291448/first-severe-human-case-bird-flu-us-sparks-alarm-california-declares-emergency?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Dec 2024 02:12:54 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela New evidence has emerged from research in China that the world could be on the brink of another pandemic as cases of bird flu surface across some regions in poultry, cattle and humans. Avian influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on a combination of two proteins found on their surfaces – hemagglutinin and neuraminidase – referred to as HxNy. Only two subtypes of avian influenza A – H1N1 and H3N2 – are known to circulate between humans, according to the Centres for Disease Control... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3289473/how-close-next-pandemic-chinese-researchers-have-some-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3289473/how-close-next-pandemic-chinese-researchers-have-some-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2024 06:28:14 +0000 A teenager is in critical condition in a British Columbia children’s hospital, sick with Canada’s first presumptive human case of avian influenza. “This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions,” said provincial health officer Bonnie Henry in a news conference on Tuesday. “It just reminds us that in young people this is a virus that can progress and cause quite severe illness and the deterioration that I mentioned was quite rapid.” British Columbia health officials said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3286319/teen-critical-condition-canadas-first-presumptive-human-case-bird-flu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3286319/teen-critical-condition-canadas-first-presumptive-human-case-bird-flu?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Nov 2024 02:31:55 +0000 US agricultural officials detected H5N1 bird flu in a pig for the first time, a development that could help the virus further evolve and put humans at risk. The virus was confirmed in a pig kept in a backyard farm in Crook County, Oregon, the US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. US health officials have feared the possibility that the pathogen, already spreading in birds and cattle, would jump into swine. Pigs have long been considered mixing vessels where flu viruses from humans and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3284531/us-spots-1st-h5n1-bird-flu-case-pig-raising-concern-humans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3284531/us-spots-1st-h5n1-bird-flu-case-pig-raising-concern-humans?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:41:57 +0000 Good luck getting a late-morning McMuffin in Australia. McDonald’s has cut breakfast service by 1-1/2 hours, the company said, after a shortage of eggs caused by bird flu outbreaks that have led to the slaughter of about 1.5 million chickens. “Like many retailers, we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to current industry challenges,” McDonald’s said on Facebook, adding that from Tuesday it would stop serving breakfast at 10:30am instead of the usual time of midday. “We are working hard... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3268861/australias-bird-flu-outbreak-affects-mcdonalds-breakfasts-ensure-theres-eggs-shelves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3268861/australias-bird-flu-outbreak-affects-mcdonalds-breakfasts-ensure-theres-eggs-shelves?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2024 09:35:08 +0000 A person with prior health complications who had contracted bird flu died in Mexico in April and the source of exposure to the virus was unknown, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. WHO said the current risk of bird flu virus to the general population is low. The 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico had been hospitalised in Mexico City and died on April 24 after developing a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nausea and general discomfort, WHO said. “Although the source... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3265542/who-confirms-first-fatal-human-case-bird-flu-ah5n2-subtype?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3265542/who-confirms-first-fatal-human-case-bird-flu-ah5n2-subtype?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:42:45 +0000 Hongkongers should avoid contact with wild birds amid signs the deadly H5 avian flu virus is mutating and may become more infectious to mammals, a leading expert has said. Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, chair professor in infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, warned residents on Saturday after recent outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu virus were reported among US dairy cows, which did not have past records of infection. “We saw that H5N1 is showing signs of genetic mutation that could allow it to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3264101/hongkongers-should-avoid-touching-wild-birds-amid-possible-mutation-deadly-h5-avian-flu-virus-expert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3264101/hongkongers-should-avoid-touching-wild-birds-amid-possible-mutation-deadly-h5-avian-flu-virus-expert?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2024 11:44:46 +0000 The H5N1 bird flu virus strain has been detected in very high concentrations in raw milk from infected animals, the WHO said on Friday, though how long the virus can survive in milk is unknown. Avian influenza A(H5N1) first emerged in 1996, but since 2020, the number of outbreaks in birds has grown exponentially, alongside an increase in the number of infected mammals. The strain has led to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry, with wild birds and land and marine mammals also infected. Cows... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3259717/h5n1-strain-bird-flu-found-milk-infected-cows-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3259717/h5n1-strain-bird-flu-found-milk-infected-cows-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Apr 2024 19:33:03 +0000 The World Health Organization voiced alarm Thursday at the growing spread of H5N1 bird flu to new species, including humans, who face an “extraordinarily high” mortality rate. “This remains I think an enormous concern,” the UN health agency’s chief scientist Jeremy Farrar told reporters in Geneva. The current bird flu outbreak began in 2020 and has led to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry, with wild birds also infected as well as land and marine mammals. Cows and goats joined the list... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3259592/who-says-human-cases-bird-flu-enormous-concern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3259592/who-says-human-cases-bird-flu-enormous-concern?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Apr 2024 05:13:20 +0000 A person in the United States is recovering from bird flu after being exposed to dairy cattle, officials said on Monday amid rising concern over the current global strain of the virus. It is only the second case of a human testing positive for bird flu in the country, and comes after the infection sickened herds in Texas, Kansas and several other states over the past week. “The patient reported eye redness [consistent with conjunctivitis], as their only symptom, and is recovering,” said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3257499/us-records-second-ever-human-bird-flu-case-amid-concerns-over-global-strain-virus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3257499/us-records-second-ever-human-bird-flu-case-amid-concerns-over-global-strain-virus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2024 20:11:09 +0000 Hong Kong has suspended imports of poultry meat and products from parts of the United States, Britain and Poland following outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu. The Centre for Food Safety said on Monday that it had instructed traders to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including eggs, from the relevant areas with immediate effect to protect public health. It said it had been notified by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of H5N1 avian... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3244721/hong-kong-suspends-imports-poultry-meat-and-products-parts-us-britain-and-poland-following-h5n1-bird?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3244721/hong-kong-suspends-imports-poultry-meat-and-products-parts-us-britain-and-poland-following-h5n1-bird?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:07:17 +0000 Nearly 1,000 seals and sea lions in southern Brazil have died from bird flu outbreaks, say authorities, who are scrambling to isolate the deadly virus from commercial poultry flocks. The southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul has confirmed an unprecedented 942 sea mammal deaths following infection by the highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI), which was reported for the first time ever in the South American country this year. Oceanographer Silvina Botta, at the Rio Grande Federal University (FURG),... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3244687/brazil-authorities-scrambles-isolate-bird-flu-virus-killed-900-seals-sea-lions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3244687/brazil-authorities-scrambles-isolate-bird-flu-virus-killed-900-seals-sea-lions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2023 10:42:14 +0000 Singapore has suspended the import of raw poultry and poultry products from several regions in countries affected by an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. These places include four Japanese prefectures – Saga, Ibaraki, Saitama and Kagoshima – as well as several regions in the United States, Canada, France, Belgium and Germany. In circulars to meat and egg traders dated December 8, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said the temporary restriction was imposed in light of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3244566/singapore-suspends-poultry-imports-parts-japan-us-and-other-countries-over-bird-flu-fears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3244566/singapore-suspends-poultry-imports-parts-japan-us-and-other-countries-over-bird-flu-fears?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Dec 2023 13:20:34 +0000 Bird flu has been detected in the Antarctica region for the first time, according to British experts, raising concerns the deadly virus could pose a threat to penguins and other local species. Scientists had been fearing that the worst outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in history would reach Antarctica, a key breeding ground for many birds. The British Antarctic Survey said its staff took samples from brown skua seabirds after they died on Bird Island in South Georgia, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3239079/bird-flu-detected-antarctica-region-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3239079/bird-flu-detected-antarctica-region-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Oct 2023 03:20:14 +0000 The World Health Organization warned Wednesday that the recent surge in bird flu outbreaks among mammals could help the virus spread more easily among humans. Since late 2021, Europe has been gripped by its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, while North and South America have also experienced severe outbreaks. This has led to the culling of tens of millions of poultry worldwide, many with the H5N1 strain of the virus, which first emerged in 1996. But there has recently been a worrying spike in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3227495/who-worried-bird-flu-might-adapt-humans-more-easily?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3227495/who-worried-bird-flu-might-adapt-humans-more-easily?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jul 2023 23:34:39 +0000 Hong Kong should step up screening for a bird flu strain in poultry after the death of a woman was linked to the virus in neighbouring Guangdong province, city experts have said. But they highlighted on Thursday that the public should not be alarmed as the H3N8 variant of bird flu did not spread easily among humans and, even if infected, the disease was not fatal in most people. Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, of the University of Hong Kong’s school of public health, said H3N8 was common in poultry,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3216946/appeal-hong-kong-screen-bird-flu-variant-after-guangdong-womans-death-linked-h3n8-strain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3216946/appeal-hong-kong-screen-bird-flu-variant-after-guangdong-womans-death-linked-h3n8-strain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Apr 2023 11:00:36 +0000 A Chinese woman infected with H3N8 bird flu has died, marking the first known fatality linked to the strain, the World Health Organization confirmed on Tuesday. WHO reported that the 56-year-old woman in China’s southern Guangdong province died on March 16. The provincial health body published a report on March 27 confirming the woman had been infected but did not mention that she had died. The woman, a resident of the city of Zhongshan, fell ill on February 22 and was hospitalised for severe... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3216798/chinese-woman-dies-h3n8-marking-first-known-human-fatality-bird-flu-strain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3216798/chinese-woman-dies-h3n8-marking-first-known-human-fatality-bird-flu-strain?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Apr 2023 09:01:33 +0000 A top Hong Kong microbiologist has revealed he received death threats three times over the past 26 years while studying outbreaks in the city and mainland China, also warning the world would pay a “hefty price” if it failed to prepare for other pandemics. Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, chair of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, on Thursday said he had received the messages after repeatedly calling for a ban on the sale of live animals at wet markets. A government spokesman on Friday... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3214552/i-received-death-threats-3-times-over-26-years-studying-outbreaks-hong-kong-scientist-says-calls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3214552/i-received-death-threats-3-times-over-26-years-studying-outbreaks-hong-kong-scientist-says-calls?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2023 07:13:32 +0000 An 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from bird flu in the country’s first known human H5N1 infection since 2014, health officials said. Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, normally spreads in poultry and wasn’t deemed a threat to people until a 1997 outbreak among visitors to live poultry markets in Hong Kong. Most human cases worldwide have involved direct contact with infected poultry, but concerns have arisen recently about infections in a variety of mammals and the possibility the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3211284/bird-flu-kills-11-year-old-girl-cambodia-first-human-case-country-2014?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3211284/bird-flu-kills-11-year-old-girl-cambodia-first-human-case-country-2014?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 10:49:00 +0000 A recent bird flu outbreak at a mink farm in Spain has reignited worries about the virus spreading more broadly to people. Scientists have been keeping tabs on this bird flu virus since the 1950s, though it wasn’t deemed a threat to people until a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong among visitors to live poultry markets. As bird flu hits more and varied animals, like at the mink farm, the fear is that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people, and potentially trigger a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3210725/why-sick-minks-are-reigniting-worries-about-bird-flu-spreading-humans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3210725/why-sick-minks-are-reigniting-worries-about-bird-flu-spreading-humans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Feb 2023 01:09:07 +0000 Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe and become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn it is now a year-round problem. Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the prevalence of the virus in the wild signals that record outbreaks will not abate soon on poultry farms, ramping up threats to the world’s food supply. They warned that farmers must view the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3210388/bird-flu-spreads-new-countries-threatens-non-stop-war-poultry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3210388/bird-flu-spreads-new-countries-threatens-non-stop-war-poultry?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Feb 2023 04:28:20 +0000 The World Health Organization called for vigilance after the recent detection of bird flu in mammals, but tried to calm fears that large-scale human outbreaks could be looming. “The recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely,” the UN health agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Wednesday, stressing that “for the moment, WHO assesses the risk to humans as low”. Since late 2021, Europe has been gripped by its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, with North and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3209561/bird-flu-spreads-mammals-who-urges-vigilance-no-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3209561/bird-flu-spreads-mammals-who-urges-vigilance-no-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Feb 2023 18:54:55 +0000 India is set to export a record 50 million eggs this month, boosted by sales to Malaysia, where there have been acute shortages as soaring feed prices caused by Ukraine war forced many small-scale farmers to cut output, industry officials said. Middle Eastern countries, including Oman and Qatar, are the main buyers of eggs from India, but over the past few months, Indian hatcheries have received large orders from surprising quarters as output fell in some of the world’s top suppliers. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3207672/india-cracks-eggs-market-malaysia-shells-out-amid-shortages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3207672/india-cracks-eggs-market-malaysia-shells-out-amid-shortages?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jan 2023 10:30:42 +0000 Berlin Zoo in the centre of the city was closed on Friday because of a case of bird flu, a spokesperson for the city’s Department for Consumer Protection said. The zoo will remain closed for the time being. The zoo was evacuated early on Friday afternoon, a dpa reporter observed on site. It was unclear when the zoo could reopen. According to the zoo, the infection in a deceased hammer-headed stork or hamerkop – a wading bird about 50cm tall – was discovered during a routine check. More penguins... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3200205/berlin-confirms-case-bird-flu-central-zoo-it-shuts-gates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3200205/berlin-confirms-case-bird-flu-central-zoo-it-shuts-gates?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Nov 2022 17:25:03 +0000 Several top Chinese scientists have called for hypervigilance against the possible collision of Covid-19 and influenza outbreaks this winter as coronavirus cases again rise in some major cities. Speaking at the World Flu Day symposium on Monday, Zhong Nanshan, China’s top respiratory expert, warned that the risk of the respiratory disease double whammy was high around the world, China’s official Science and Technology Daily outlet reported. China faces surging Covid-19 cases in many parts of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3198182/coronavirus-china-urges-vigilance-home-and-tracks-outbreaks-abroad-prevent-covid-flu-superstorm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3198182/coronavirus-china-urges-vigilance-home-and-tracks-outbreaks-abroad-prevent-covid-flu-superstorm?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Nov 2022 04:00:16 +0000 At least half a million chickens have been either killed by a bird flu outbreak in Burkina Faso or culled to prevent the virus spreading, the West African country announced Saturday. The outbreak of the highly pathogenic H1N1 strain of avian flu was detected late last year at 42 farms spread across seven regions in the centre and west of the country, Animal Resources Minister Moussa Kabore told a press conference. “At the end of December 2021, we noted a high mortality rate among poultry at our... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3163553/bird-flu-outbreak-half-million-chickens-die-burkina-faso?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3163553/bird-flu-outbreak-half-million-chickens-die-burkina-faso?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Jan 2022 19:47:10 +0000 A “very rare” case of bird flu was diagnosed in a person in southwest England, the UK Health Security Agency said Thursday. The person had been in close contact with infected birds, and human-to-human transmission was neither suspected nor expected. In fact, the bird flu is difficult to contract, the agency implied. “The person acquired the infection from very close, regular contact with a large number of infected birds, which they kept in and around their home over a prolonged period of time,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3162448/extremely-rare-case-bird-flu-human-detected-england?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3162448/extremely-rare-case-bird-flu-human-detected-england?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 21:44:12 +0000 India reported what could be its first case of human death due to bird flu after a 12-year-old succumbed to the disease. The boy who died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi was infected with avian influenza, according to an official at the public hospital. Local media including the Hindustan Times reported it was likely the first case of H5N1 among humans in India and the country’s first human bird flu death. Be alert to pandemic risk after Russia bird flu cases, say... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3142008/indian-boy-dies-bird-flu-countrys-first-such-case-human-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3142008/indian-boy-dies-bird-flu-countrys-first-such-case-human-death?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jul 2021 15:46:36 +0000 Jacqueline Kwan walks into the Kowloon branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), a parade of dogs behind her. There’s Freddie the Shih Tzu, who was abandoned by its owner at a police station; Burita, a schnauzer, rescued from a breeding farm; and mongrel George, a rescued stray. She has nine more at home. “I’m a failed fosterer who ended up adopting them – but I’m happy about that,” laughs Kwan, chairman of the SPCA (HK), the city’s oldest animal welfare organisation... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3137688/hong-kong-spca-marks-100-years-rescuing-animals-and-promoting-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3137688/hong-kong-spca-marks-100-years-rescuing-animals-and-promoting-their?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jun 2021 04:15:00 +0000 Two leading Chinese infectious disease experts have warned of the risk of a new pandemic after the first human infections from a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu were discovered in Russia. In a letter published in Science magazine, Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and Shi Weifeng, dean of public health at Shandong First Medical University, called for increased surveillance at poultry farms, markets and wild birds as the Covid-19 pandemic has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3134808/stay-alert-new-pandemic-risk-after-russian-bird-flu-cases-warn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3134808/stay-alert-new-pandemic-risk-after-russian-bird-flu-cases-warn?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 May 2021 13:30:09 +0000 Hong Kong authorities have stepped up their vigilance against bird flu after a highly pathogenic strain was detected in the city for the first time. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said on Thursday it was notified that two samples of bird droppings taken from Mai Po nature reserve by university researchers last Wednesday had tested positive for the H5N8 strain. Located in the northwestern New Territories bordering Deep Bay, Mai Po is Hong Kong’s largest remaining wetland... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3117811/researchers-discover-h5n8-strain-bird-flu-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3117811/researchers-discover-h5n8-strain-bird-flu-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2021 17:05:44 +0000 A bird flu outbreak in Japan worsened on Thursday, with farms in two more prefectures slaughtering chickens in a record cull of poultry as the government ordered the disinfection of all chicken farms. The highly pathogenic H5 subtype, which was most likely brought by migrating birds from the Asian/European continent, has spread to eight of Japan’s 47 prefectures. While officials say it is not possible for people to catch bird flu from eggs or meat of infected chickens, they are concerned about... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3113375/bird-flu-outbreak-japan-worsens-over-2-million-chickens-culled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3113375/bird-flu-outbreak-japan-worsens-over-2-million-chickens-culled?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:00:17 +0000 The finger-pointing between Beijing and Washington over the coronavirus has escalated further, including on economic and intelligence fronts, as the pandemic continues to ravage the US. A Chinese state-run newspaper has demanded the US government disclose information about several virus experiments and its initial response to the coronavirus, while US President Donald Trump threatened to take harsh action against China. Confirmed cases of infection in the United States have passed 1 million,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3082531/donald-trump-threatens-tariffs-over-coronavirus-us-and-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3082531/donald-trump-threatens-tariffs-over-coronavirus-us-and-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2020 21:30:16 +0000 The International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation require member states to conduct disease surveillance and to report expeditiously new diseases which may be of an international concern. For this system to work effectively and to ensure transparency, it is imperative that reporting countries do not suffer stigma and undue trade and travel restrictions. In the past, we have observed China’s lack of transparency during the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003 and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3079835/why-blaming-who-coronavirus-crisis-both-misguided-and-unproductive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3079835/why-blaming-who-coronavirus-crisis-both-misguided-and-unproductive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2020 23:25:16 +0000 With the world’s focus firmly on the coronavirus, it is easy to miss other developments – and warnings – emerging from the health sector. This month researchers released a study that found the spread of avian flu in China is closely connected to poultry trade networks rather than just bird migration. A clear association was found between the structure of poultry trade networks and the dissemination of H5N1, H7N9 and H5N6 bird flu viruses after studying five Chinese regions. The country’s central... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3076667/bird-flu-spread-china-closely-linked-poultry-trade-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3076667/bird-flu-spread-china-closely-linked-poultry-trade-study?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2020 07:00:15 +0000 China lifted an import ban on live poultry products from the United States from February 14 – the date when a partial trade deal between the two countries took effect. The move came after China reported cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in chickens in two provinces in the first 10 days of February, a development that could threaten the domestic poultry industry. Bans on American live poultry and poultry products imposed in 2013, 2014 and 2015 were all lifted, according to an announcement on... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3050856/china-lifts-import-ban-live-poultry-us-bird-flu-threatens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3050856/china-lifts-import-ban-live-poultry-us-bird-flu-threatens?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Feb 2020 11:30:15 +0000