| ■ Hong Kong, Fighting Bird Flu Outbreak, Orders Mass Chicken Cull | 2008.06.16 |
| Hong Kong has begun culling all chickens in its markets and retail outlets after finding the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu among fowl in a total of seven markets, the Bloomberg news service reported Wednesday. The outbreak was first detected at four markets last week, and the virus has since been found at three additional markets. Poultry imports from mainland China were suspended on June 7. Some 3,500 chickens were to be slaughtered at about 470 locations, Bloomberg reported. Additional testing at bird farms will determine if more culls are needed, the government said. So far, it has been difficult for the virus to pass between fowl and people, but experts have long feared that the germ would mutate and spark a human flu pandemic. |