Avian Flu Returns to Hong Kong

Article

HONG KONG-Thousands of chickens have been killed by Hong Kong health officials in an attempt to prevent a bird flu virus from mutating into a potentially lethal human disease.

Markets were evacuated as health workers rounded up chickens to be slaughtered. This is the third round of avian flu for the Asian island in the past few years. The first major outbreak occurred in 1997. The virus mutated into a human form and killed 6 people before it was brought under control.

More than 200,000 chickens have been killed to prevent the flu from spreading. With the Chinese New Year celebrated tomorrow, the outbreak is significantly impacting the economy. Many of the traditional chicken dishes will not be prepared for the festivities. Officials report retailers have already list $12.8 million dollars in sales since the weekend.

The flu is reportedly from the H5NI goose family-the same strain responsible for killing humans in 1997.

Information from www.reuters.com

Recent Videos
Meet Jenny Hayes, MSN, RN, CIC, CAIP, CASSPT.
mpox   (Adobe Stock 924156809 by Andreas Prott)
Meet Alexander Sundermann, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC.
Veterinary Infection Prevention
Meet the Infection Control Today Editorial Advisory Board Members: Priya Pandya-Orozco, DNP, MSN, RN, PHN, CIC.
Fungal Disease Awareness Week
Meet Matthew Pullen, MD.
Clostridioides difficile  (Adobe Stock 260659307 by gaetan)
Henry Spratt, Infection Control Today's Editorial Advisory Board member
Related Content