Dead Magpie Found to Have Bird Flu Virus in Hong Kong
Posted by chinaview on June 10, 2007
earthtimes.org, Fri, 08 Jun 2007-
Hong Kong – A dead magpie found in a busy urban area of Hong Kong has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, government officials confirmed Friday. The bird, found last week in Shatin in the New Territories, is the 17th wild bird to have been found dead in Hong Kong with the virus this year.
Migratory birds have been blamed for the spread of the deadly virus which, according to the World Health Organization, has killed 189 people worldwide since 2003.
Hong Kong has stayed free of any human cases of H5N1 since 1997 when the virus jumped the species barrier and infected 18 people, killing six.
The outbreak prompted the government to put in place stringent controls and precautionary measures which included regular clean up days at poultry markets and controls on imports.
The World Health Organization claims the H5N1 virus has infected 310 people in 12 countries in Asia and Africa since 2003. Of these 25 infections and 16 deaths have been in mainland China.
