Report: HK suspends poultry imports from some areas in China

 

A report on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Sunday said the move came after it was learned that the fatality had been diagnosed with bird flu.

 

The RTHK report said the HK Centre for Food Safety announced the decision after communicating with mainland authorities.

 

It said the import of live poultry and products, such as chilled and frozen poultry and eggs, would be suspended for 21 days.

 

According to the RTHK report, the area involved is a 13-km radius surrounding the patient's home.

 

Earlier reports cited China's official Xinhua News Agency as saying the 39-year-old bus driver living in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, developed symptoms on Dec. 21.

 

He was admitted to a hospital on Dec. 25 because of severe pneumonia. He died of multiple organ failure, having tested positive for the H5N1 (bird flu) virus.

 

Xinhua said the man had no direct contact with poultry in the month prior to getting sick and had not left the city. — LBG, GMA News