Hong Kong bars poultry imports from S.China
Hong Kong has suspended chilled and frozen duck and geese imports from China’s Guangdong province after a suspected outbreak of H5N1 bird flu virus among ducks was discovered.
“All chilled and frozen duck and geese from Guangdong will be suspended for one week. The government will scrap an arrangement to increase imports of live chickens for the mid-autumn festival (next week),” Health Secretary York Chow.
China recently announced a suspected outbreak of H5N1 among ducks in Panyu district of Guangdong. Approximately 9,830 ducks had died of the outbreak five days later and Chinese workers have since culled over 33,000 ducks in the area.
Initial tests by provincial officials showed that the birds died of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.
Chow said while the outbreak appears to be an isolated one, Hong Kong would suspend all imports of live chickens, eggs and chilled and frozen poultry meat from farms within a 24 km (15 mile) radius of the infected farm.
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