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Wild Birds Cause Deadly Flu Virus

Posted on: Friday, 6 March 2009, 07:15 CST

An investigation found that wild birds spread a deadly flu virus that ravaged a Hong Kong farm last year and caused the premature slaughter of 90,000 chickens. 

The December outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was the first discovered at a Hong Kong poultry farm in six years. It raised fears about the city's biosecurity measures and whether the deadly H5N1 virus had mutated.

"As with many epidemiological studies of this nature, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the outbreak," said Thomas Sit, the head of the government's investigation team.

However, he said the virus was "most likely to have been introduced to the farm by wild birds."

Sit hypothesized that droppings from infected wild birds could have contaminated dust and dirt near the entrance of one of the two affected chicken sheds.

But he said the investigation could not rule out other sources like rodents or contaminated clothing of farm staff.

Cheung Siu-hing, director of city's agriculture department, said enforcement officials would strengthen biosecurity measures for all Hong Kong poultry farms. They plan to increase the number of inspections and test blood samples.

"It is difficult, if not impossible, to say we can 100 percent prevent the spread of avian flu. That's why we have to learn from each incident. We can't afford to be complacent," Siu-hing said.

The outbreak was discovered after a dead chicken was found at the farm near the border with China.

All chickens within a 1.9-mile radius of the farm were slaughtered, local farms were barred from selling chickens and eggs for 21 days, plus imports of chickens were banned for the same period.

Hong Kong's Health Secretary, York Chow, said the city needed to stay on full alert against avian influenza that poses an imminent worldwide threat.

"To help achieve such a task, the biosecurity measures of local chicken farms will be vital to minimize the risk of avian influenza," Chow said in a statement.

H5N1 has killed more than 250 people worldwide since it was first discovered in Hong Kong in 1997.

Scientists are worried the virus could mutate into a form, which is much more easily transmissible between humans, triggering a global pandemic that could kill millions.

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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