Chicken sales plummet in Hong Kong after bird flu is detected

Posted : Sun, 08 Jun 2008 08:23:01 GMT
By : DPA
Category : Health
News Alerts by Email ( click here )
Health News | Home
Hong Kong - Chicken sales in Hong Kong plummeted Sunday after the discovery of the H5N1 bird flu virus at a poultry market in the former British colony. Four thousand chickens remained unsold at the city's wholesale market and traders quoted by government-run radio station RTHK said sales were down around 30 per cent.

Workers in face masks and protective suits Saturday killed 2,700 chickens at an infected market in a chilling reminder of the bird culls in the city in the 1990s.

The outbreak, the first in Hong Kong in recent years, was discovered at a livestock market in the city's Shamshuipo district, the government said.

The H5N1 bird flu virus was found on swabs on chicken faeces from the market in Po On Road which was Saturday declared an infected area and sealed off to the public.

All chicken imports from mainland China, the suspected source of the outbreak, have been banned and the government will consider culling all chickens in the territory if more cases are found.

Hong Kong was home to the first modern case of bird flu to jump the species barrier and infect humans in 1997 when the H5N1 virus killed six people and infected 12 others.

Since then, thanks largely to stringent checks and mass culls when any cases are discovered, there have been no further cases of humans infected by bird flu in Hong Kong despite regional outbreaks.

Copyright DPA

Share/Save/Bookmark

Article : Chicken sales plummet in Hong Kong after bird flu is detected
Print this article
Email this article

Stay Updated
News gadget on your Google homepage
Subscribe to a news feed in Google Reader


Related News



Have your Say
Name
Email
Subject
Your Comment

Enter Verification code
 
  


 

More Health News click here
Follow The Earth Times
Subscribe to RSS Follow Earth Times on TwitterNews by email
Share/Save/Bookmark

 
 



 
Subscribe to free Earthtimes
News Alerts by Email Click here
For RSS Feeds Click here
or Create your own RSS

Add to Google Toolbar
Breaking News
Press Releases

 

 

The Earth Times
News Category

© 2010 www.earthtimes.org, The Earth Times, All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
Earth Times accept no responsibility or liability either directly or indirectly for views or opinions expressed in articles or comments.