January 30, 2007

Two dead birds test positive for H5N1 in Hong Kong

Two dead birds found earlier in urban Hong Kong have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, bringing the year's tally of cases to seven, the government said in a statement Monday (Jan 29).

The two birds--a peregrine falcon and a house crow--were found last week in Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula, which adjoins the Chinese mainland.

The latest laboratory test results bring the number of wild birds confirmed with H5N1 this year to seven.

Hong Kong has discovered sporadic cases of the disease in dead birds, but there is no sign it has infected humans.

The territory tested 11,000 birds for the H5 strain of bird flu in 2006 and 17 were positive.