June 02, 2012

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow today said a two-year-old boy’s influenza A H5 infection is likely an isolated incident, and the chance of it being spread to other people is relatively low. He urged the public not to panic.
 
After the meeting of the steering committee on avian influenza this morning, Dr Chow said the boy’s parents and grandmother have no flu symptoms, which suggests this case is not likely infectious.
 
Dr Chow said the boy had been to poultry markets in Guangdong, but experts are still investigating where he had caught the virus.
 
He added that the Centre for Food Safety has liaised with its Mainland counterparts. The centre will announce the area within a 13km radius of the infected area to be the import control zone for temporary suspension of importing live poultry and poultry products to Hong Kong for 21 days once the source of infection is located.
 
No registered farm supplying live poultry to Hong Kong is within the 13km radius of the boy's home, he said.
 
The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department will inspect all 30 local chicken farms within two days to confirm the health condition of chickens at local farms and ensure that all biosecurity and health measures are followed strictly.