HK resumes poultry import from UK's Suffolk county

HONG KONG - Hong Kong has decided to immediately resume the processing of applications for importing poultry and poultry products from UK's Suffolk county, the Center for Food Safety announced Monday.
calendar icon 14 August 2007
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Hong Kong suspended processing Suffolk applications after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu on a farm in the British county was confirmed in February.

"In view of the control measures taken by Suffolk county and the fact that there are no other cases of avian influenza reported, we decide to resume processing of applications from the county," a spokesman for the Center for Food Safety said.

Human cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, which used to be confined to bird populations, has been reported in recent years, forcing the cull of millions of farmed poultry. There were 319 confirmed human cases and 192 deaths worldwide by July 25 this year, according to World Health Organization data.

Indonesia reported two more cases of confirmed human infections on Monday.

Scientists worry the bird flu virus could mutate into a form that could travel from human to human, with a potential global pandemic that could kill millions.

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