Friday, May 03, 2013
Call to Ban Import of Live Poultry as H7N9 Continues to SpreadHONG KONG - Current affairs commentator and columnist, Albert Cheng, says the government must act, given the expert warnings about the virulence of H7N9 virus, and no sign that infections are abating.
South China Morning PostWednesday, April 10, 2013
HK CE Pledges Resources to Fight H7N9HONG KONG - Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung said that the government will ensure adequate manpower and resources to fight any possible H7N9 outbreak in the city.
ThePoultrySite News DeskWednesday, February 20, 2013
HK Bans Poultry Products Imports from GermanyHONG KONG - Import of all poultry and poultry products, including poultry eggs, from the states of Brandenburg and Berlin of Germany, has been banned with immediate effect for the protection of Hong Kong's public and animal health, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced Tuesday, 19 February.
ThePoultrySite News DeskFriday, February 01, 2013
Black-headed Gull Tests Positive for H5N1 VirusHONG KONG - A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (1 February) that a black-headed gull found in Tuen Mun last week was confirmed to be H5N1-positive after a series of laboratory tests.
ThePoultrySite News DeskWednesday, August 29, 2012
Hong Kong Introduces New Bird Flu VaccineHONG KONG - Secretary for Food & Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, says a new poultry vaccine, Re-6, which is more effective in preventing avian flu H5N1 than the existing one, will be introduced to local chicken farms.
ThePoultrySite News DeskFriday, July 13, 2012
Bird Market Closed Due to Detection of H5N1 VirusHONG KONG - Following confirmation of H5N1 virus detected in a swab sample collected from a bird cage in a pet shop on 5 July, all 1,000 birds in the pet shop where the sample was collected were destroyed. There are 18 bird pet shops in the neighborhood housing about 10,000 birds in total. The Hong Kong government immediately declared the market as an infected area and ordered for its closure for 21 days.
ThePoultrySite News Desk
Govt Approves New AI Vaccine for PoultryHONG KONG - The Hong Kong government (HKG) has decided to recommend Re-5 H5N1 AI vaccine as an alternative to the existing Intervet Nobilis H5N2 AI vaccine for the mandatory vaccination program in local poultry farms after a 12-month successful field trial in two farms.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, June 25, 2012
Hong Kong Reports More HPAI in Wild BirdsHONG KONG - The country's veterinary authorities have reported another outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu in a scaly-breasted munia.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, June 04, 2012
Boy Confirmed with Bird Flu in Hong KongHONG KONG - Hong Kong health authority said that a two-year-old boy has been confirmed with H5N1 Influenza A and urged the public not to panic.
ThePoultrySite News DeskThursday, May 17, 2012
HK Resumes Poultry Imports from LiaoningHONG KONG - The import of poultry products, including poultry eggs and frozen poultry, from northeastern Liaoning province on the Chinese mainland has resumed, the Center for Food Safety of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China announced.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, May 07, 2012
Dead Bird H5N1 Positive in Hong KongHONG KONG - A carcass of a crested myna found on 27 April in Hong Kong was confirmed to be H5N1-positive after a series of laboratory tests, the city's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said here Monday.
ThePoultrySite News DeskFriday, April 27, 2012
Hong Kong Suspends Poultry Imports from LiaoningHONG KONG - The Center for Food Safety of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China Thursday suspended the import of poultry products, including eggs and frozen poultry, from northeast Liaoning province of the Chinese mainland for three weeks.
ThePoultrySite News DeskThursday, April 19, 2012
Bird Flu 'Epidemic' Sparks Chicken CullHONG KONG - Agricultural authorities have culled about 95,000 chickens following an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in northwest China.
The StandardMonday, April 16, 2012
HPAI Identified in One Oriental Magpie RobinHONG KONG - The Hong Kong veterinary authorities have reported another case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in an Oriental Magpie Robin in Hung Hom.
ThePoultrySite News DeskTuesday, April 10, 2012
H5N1 Virus Found in Wild Bird in Hong KongHONG KONG - A carcass of an oriental magpie robin found in Hong Kong last week was confirmed to be H5N1-positive after a series of laboratory tests, the city government said in a statement today.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, March 26, 2012
Hong Kong Discovers More HPAI in Wild BirdsHONG KONG - Dr Thomas Sit, Chief Veterinary Officer, has reported another two outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Lantau and in Shek Kip Mei.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, March 19, 2012
HK's House Crow Tested Positive for Bird Flu VirusHONG KONG - A preliminary testing of a dead house crow found in Hong Kong's Shek Kip Mei area has tested positive for the H5 avian influenza virus, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said Saturday.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, March 12, 2012
More HPAI in Hong KongHONG KONG - The country's veterinary authorities have reported two new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds.
ThePoultrySite News DeskMonday, March 05, 2012
Hong Kong Reports More HPAI in Wild BirdsHONG KONG - The country's veterinary authorities have reported three new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Cheung Chau and Mongkok.
ThePoultrySite News DeskThursday, March 01, 2012
Second Cheung Chau Bird Flu Scare in DaysHONG KONG - A dead oriental magpie robin, which was found in Cheung Chau, has tested positive for the H5 bird flu virus in preliminary checks, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said yesterday.
The Standard
(aka bird flu, avian flu) is caused by a type of influenza virus that is hosted by birds, but may infect several species of mammals. It was first identified in Italy in the early 1900s and is now known to exist worldwide. A strain of the H5N1-type of avian influenza virus that emerged in 1997 has been identified as the most likely source of a future influenza pandemic.
Strains of avian influenza virus may infect various types of animals, including birds, pigs, horses, seals, whales and humans. However, wild fowl act as natural asymptomatic carriers, spreading it to more susceptible domestic stocks. Avian influenza virus spreads in the air and in manure and there is no evidence that the virus can survive in well cooked meat.
How to Recognise Avian Influenza
What to look for
- Ruffled feathers
- Soft-shelled eggs
- Depression and droopiness
- Sudden drop in egg production
- Loss of appetite
- Cyanosis (purplish-blue coloring) of wattles and comb
- Edema and swelling of head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks
- Green diarrhoea
- Blood-tinged discharge from nostrils
- Incoordination, including loss of ability to walk and stand
- Pin-point hemorrhages (most easily seen on the feet and shanks)
- Respiratory distress
- Increased death losses in a flock
- Sudden death
- Nasal discharges
For more detail in avian influenza in poultry
click here
Poultry Vaccination as a strategy for controlling AI in commercial birds
Outbreaks of avian influenza in the poultry industry cause devastating economic losses and is generally controlled through extensive culling of infected birds. Alternative strategies also use vaccination as a supplementary control measure during avian influenza outbreaks.
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Advantages of Vaccination
- Vaccination reduces susceptibility to infection.
- A higher dose of virus is necessary to infect the vaccinated birds.
- Vaccinated birds shed less virus.
- Decreased contamination of the environment.
- Decreased risk of human infection
- Used strategically vaccination compliments a stamping out strategy by slowing/stopping the spread of the virus
For more information on poultry vaccination see:
Avian Influenza (Fowl Plague) is a potentially devastating disease, predominantly of chickens and turkeys, although the virus can also affect game birds (pheasants, partridge and quail), ratites (ostrich and emu), psittacine and passerine birds.
Avian Influenza is caused by an orthomyxovirus, or influenza virus and can survive for considerable lengths of time outside of the host and birds are infected through contact with other birds, mechanical vectors such as vehicles and equipment and personnel travelling between farms, markets and abattoirs.
Precautionary requirements include cleaning and disinfection of premises and the establishment of a Biosecurity barrier to help prevent spread of disease is essential.
For more information on biosecurity see the links below