BIRD TESTS POSITIVE FOR H5 VIRUS IN HONG KONG

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000045 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EAP/EP TWANG STATE FOR G/AIAG JLANGE, RFENDRICK STATE FOR M/MED AND M/MEDEX STATE FOR INR/EAP HHS FOR OGHA - STEIGER, ELVANDER, BHAT BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC STATE PLEASE PASS TO USDA FOR DU/US LAMBERT BEIJING FOR DSELIGSOHN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON TBIO SENV EAGR AMED KFLU HK CH SUBJECT: BIRD TESTS POSITIVE FOR H5 VIRUS IN HONG KONG REF: HONG KONG 4780 ¶1. (SBU) Hong Kong government (HKG) officials announced that a fast test reveals a dead bird tested positive for the H5 virus in Hong Kong on January 4. The bird, a Scaly-breasted Munia, was one of six dead birds found on the street near an urban shopping area on December 31. Additional tests will be conducted on all six animals to determine if it is the H5N1 strain. As a preventive measure, Hong Kong has closed three local aviaries and stepped up inspections of poultry farms, wet markets, and pet shops. This is the first positive H5N1 test in Hong Kong in ten months. HKG officials state this discovery is in line with their expectations of a rise in positive tests for H5N1 in birds due to the annual migratory bird stopovers that occur in Hong Kong from January to March. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) On December 31, Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) workers collected six dead birds that were found on a crowded street in a popular shopping district in Hong Kong. Preliminary tests show that one of the birds was infected with H5, while the other birds tested negative. AFCD will conduct additional tests on all six bird carcasses too confirm whether it is the H5N1 strain. During a press conference, Assistant Director of AFCD Thomas Sit speculated that migratory waterfowl may have infected the bird. However, citing comments by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society and the manager of a local nature reserve, press reports note that this species of bird is rare in urban settings like Hong Kong and speculate that the birds may have been released by local residents as part of a Chinese blessing tradition. Nonetheless, despite disagreements over the cause of the infection, Assistant Director Sit said that the positive test is an important reminder of the need for farmers, poultry sellers, and pet bird owners to maintain proper sanitation and hygiene for both the animals and humans who come into contact with them. ¶3. (SBU) AFCD has stepped up biosecurity measures across Hong Kong and will intensify inspections of markets and pet shops in Causeway Bay, the urban district where the birds were found. AFCD has contacted farmers, pet store operators, licensed owners of pet birds, and wet market bird sellers to remind them of the need to maintain proper sanitary conditions and report any human or animal illnesses. The HKG also dispatched workers to rural areas to ensure that residents there abide by the ban against keeping backyard poultry. In accordance with the HKG AI Preparedness Plan, the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) closed aviaries in Hong Kong Park, Kowloon Park, and the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens -- all within the three-kilometer radius of where the birds were found. Nature preserves on the outskirts of the city remain open, but the government is prepared to close them if the situation warrants. ¶4. (SBU) Thomas Tsang, MD, a communicable disease specialist at the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection, told EconOff that the positive test came as little surprise and that the HKG has been preparing for months for the annual migratory bird season that traditionally lasts from January to March. Tsang said he did not yet know whether this bird was infected SIPDIS with a highly virulent strain, but anticipates that additional birds will test positive in the coming weeks. Tsang also indicated that there is no evidence of human SIPDIS infection in Hong Kong at this time. He stated that the main risk is of migratory birds infecting local poultry stocks, but believes that Hong Kong has greatly reduced that risk by increasing its biosecurity measures around farms and slaughterhouses (see reftel). He noted that CHP and AFCD are monitoring the situation closely. Sakaue