HK culls all chickens as H5N1 spreads
Following further reports of H5N1 virus infections spreading among the poultry, Hong Kong health authorities announced on Wednesday that they would slaughter all chickens in the area.
Samples taken from several poultry markets in HK tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus. “We have announced that all market stores and fresh provision shops selling live poultry are now infected areas,” they said, as they began culling chickens across some 470 stores in 64 markets throughout the city.
In a major bird flu outbreak in 1997, the entire 1.5 million poultry population in the city were culled. Other outbreaks of the bird flu have since occurred in Hong Kong. (Source)
Colorized transmission electron micrograph of Avian influenza A H5N1 viruses (seen in gold) grown in MDCK cells (seen in green). Avian influenza A viruses do not usually infect humans; however, several instances of human infections and outbreaks have been reported since 1997. (Source)
Hong Kong: The “Fragrant Harbor”
Why is Hong Kong so susceptible to the outbreaks of the bird flu? One answer may lie in the city’s poor standards of hygiene. Ironically, Hong Kong means ”fragrant harbor” in Chinese. Anyone who’s ever traveled to Hong Kong and experienced a few whiffs the Victoria Harbor could easily attest to that!
Related Links:
Prevent Chinese chicken from entering our food supply
By Sarah Alexander, Food & Water Watch
As a member of Food & Water Watch, we think this is an important issue that you should know about. The Chinese government and some big agribusiness players want to export processed chicken from China to the U.S. However, the Chinese food safety system doesn’t have the best track record.
In the past year alone, American consumers have been exposed to dangerous imports ranging from deadly pet food and blood thinners, to toxic toys and fish. Now is not the time to add chicken to the list of imported products from China. Will you sign a petition saying, “No thanks,” to Chinese chicken?
Given China’s poor safety standards and lax enforcement policies, adding China to the list of meat exporters is not in the public interest. The incidence of avian flu is another reason to be cautious about accepting processed chicken from China.
However, the most compelling reasons have come from on-site inspections in China that have been conducted by U.S. inspectors. Here’s what they found:
- filthy and unsanitary conditions in the facilities;
- defective equipment;
- improper employee hygiene;
- lack of pre-shipment review procedures;
- and the lack of microbial testing for Salmonella and generic E. coli;
These sorts of violations create serious food safety problems. Now is definitely not the time to allow processed chicken from China. American consumers want a safe food supply, so until China fixes its broken system, it’s a good precaution to not allow poultry from China.
Will you sign our petition to Congress, saying, “No thanks,” to Chinese chicken?
Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.
Disclaimer: FEWW is not affiliated with Food & Water Watch. The above note and links are reprinted for the purpose of information only.
Fire Earth 
