September 20, 2007

 

Flu effect: Guangzhou halts poultry exports to HK, Macau

 

 

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has partially suspended the export of live poultry and related products such as eggs to neighbouring Hong Kong and Macau, following the latest outbreak of bird flu, local authorities said on Wednesday.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed on Monday that a subtype H5N1 bird flu strain killed 9,830 ducks raised in Sixian Village of Panyu District in Guangzhou in early September.

 

The suspension, which is to last 21 days starting from last Monday, applies to the registered poultry farms and plants processing poultry products located within a radius of 24 kilometers from the site of the bird flu outbreak, said a spokesman with the Guangdong Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

 

Local authorities have also suspended exports of all waterfowl and related products to Hong Kong and Macao for a week, the spokesman said.

 

Meanwhile, all registered live poultry farms in Guangdong that supply the markets of Hong Kong and Macao have been ordered to make daily reports about their situation, amid efforts to enhance monitoring of bird flu, he said.

 

Guangzhou had culled 134,384 ducks, 18,786 chickens and 150 doves by Tuesday in nine villages within a radius of three kilometres from the site of the bird flu outbreak.

 

A total of 68 poultry farmers in Panyu District who have had close contact with ducks killed by bird flu have taken blood tests and medical checkups, and were found to be in good condition.

 

The district government announced on Tuesday the suspension of all poultry markets within a 13-kilometre-radius surveillance zone.

 

The last case of H5N1 bird flu reported in China occurred in May in central China's Hunan Province, which killed more than 11,000 poultry and led to another 52,800 birds being culled.

 

China has reported 25 human cases of bird flu since 2003, which have resulted in 16 deaths.