Every so often Hong Kong decides to make a sacrifice to the gods, slaughtering every chicken in sight. On the eve of the New Year, the sacrifice has begun.
Just kidding. But unfortunately, H7N9 avian influenza was detected in a number of samples of live chickens imported from Guangdong in the Cheung Sha Wan wholesale poultry market.
The market’s 15,000 live chickens will be culled starting from this morning.
The market will be closed for three full weeks while the government cleans and sanitises to the extreme.
During this period, the important of live chickens from the mainland will cease and the authorities will inspect every single one of the 29 local chicken farms to ensure they are bird-flu-free.
Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man (you could say he’s our wing man… on this winged issue) said that his mainland counterparts “have been doing a lot” to ensure that healthy poultry is supplied to Hong Kong.
“In fact, the supply chain of live poultry for Hong Kong is entirely segregated from other live poultry on the Mainland.”
Ko also said that the discovery of the virus is an indication that the government’s inspection and detection system for the avian flu worked. We trust you, Wing-man!
Photo: Neal Foley via Flickr
