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World News See other World News Articles Title: HONG KONG: BIRDS SLAUGHTERED IN ATTEMPT TO STOP SPREAD OF FLU (2) Hong Kong on Monday completed the first stage of a mass cull of more than one point two million chicken and other poultry to stamp out "bird flu". Vendors slit the throats of their birds while government teams gassed flocks on farms with carbon dioxide. But as the mass cull got under way, officials confirmed another person had been taken ill with the mysterious disease, bringing the total number of people infected to 13. Early in the morning, the cull of Hong Kong's chickens began in earnest - the authorities were desperate to eradicate the mysterious flu that has killed four people so far. Family flocks as well as commercial farms were targeted in the massive, 24-hour drive to kill Hong Kong's estimated one point two (m) million chickens. Uncounted ducks, geese, quail and other edible birds also were being killed as suspected carriers of the influenza virus A H-5-N-1, which has long been known to infect birds but jumped to humans for the first time this year. Government workers in white surgical masks and gloves threw the birds in plastic garbage bags, tossed in cupfuls of lime and sealed them in dumpsters. Health officials said the slaughter was an important way of preventing the spread of the disease. But critics of the mass slaughter, which was announced on Sunday, said the key question of where the virus was coming from remained unanswered. Thirteen cases of the flu have been confirmed, including the four who died, and seven are suspected. The method of transmission remains a mystery and there is no vaccine. Not everyone exposed to the virus falls ill. At least nine people developed antibodies to the flu without developing marked symptoms and four who had been sickened were discharged from the hospital after making full recoveries. About 80 percent of Hong Kong's poultry supply comes from mainland China. Opposition politicians have accused the authorities of moving too slowly to clean up the chicken supply out of subservience to Beijing. Beijing halted poultry shipments last week. But it insisted that none of its chickens were infected, raising questions about the effectiveness of its surveillance after shipments resume. Hong Kong officials said they believed at least some infected chickens came from China. Consumption of chickens, once Hong Kong's most popular meat, fell so sharply in recent weeks that most vendors and farmers welcomed the slaughter, saying they were losing money by keeping the birds alive. The government prepared emergency legislation that would compensate owners by 30 Hong Kong dollars (3.85 U-S dollars) a bird. The carcasses of the slaughtered birds will be taken to government-run landfills where they will be buried. A Hong Kong environment protection officer said there should be no problems caused by dumping the disinfected remains. Poster Comment: China is reporting fewer birds culled but Hong Kong is more open. And they have 13 reported cases of bird flu in Hong Kong. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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