Friday, February 06, 2009
The discovery of more dead chickens in Tai O, following recent findings of goose, duck and chicken carcasses on Lantau Island, has sparked concerns of a secret avian flu outbreak in the mainland, and that dead birds may have been carried by the tides.
Two chickens were collected by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department off the coast of Yeung Hau Temple in Tai O on Wednesday, and another was found yesterday.
The specimens collected early last week have been confirmed as H5N1 positive.
"This must clearly indicate some outbreak, I suspect not within Hong Kong," said Professor Malik Peiris of the Department of Microbiology at Hong Kong University.
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There is no higher risk of human infection from the carcasses as such, said Peiris, but there is a clear risk of infection spreading to poultry farms in Hong Kong.
A spokeswoman for the agriculture department said staff have inspected 321 villages across the territory, finding and destroying five stray chickens and two ducks in Cheung Po and Kam Tin. Inspections in North Lantau, where the first carcasses were found, have been completed
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