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H5N1 Closes Another Nature Reserve in Hong Kong Recombinomics Commentary 08:04 February 6, 2008 Preliminary testing of a Great Egret found in Yuen Long had indicated a suspected case of H5 avian influenza, a spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (February 5), adding that further confirmatory tests were being conducted. The bird carcass was found and collected on February 2 at Tam Kon Chau, Yuen Long. The Great Egret is a common resident and winter visitor to Hong Kong. "As a precautionary measure, the Mai Po Nature Reserve will be temporarily closed to visitors for 21 days starting tomorrow (February 6). The above comments describe the closing of the Mai Po Nature Reserve following the H5 confirmation in a Great Egret. This closure comes on the heals of another Hong Kong closure, the walk-in aviaries in Ocean Park due to H5 in another wild bird, a Black-crowned Night Heron. It is likely that both birds were infected with the Fujian strain (clade 2.3) of H5N1, which has been detected at this time of the year for the past three years. In the past bird watching groups have tried to link the dead wild birds to religious ceremonies, but this season reports of H5N1 positive dead birds began early with an H5N1 positive egret in November, 2007, precluding linkages with the release of ornamental birds, which happen in January. The H5N1 in wild birds in Hong Kong signal the transport and transmission of H5N1 by wild birds. In southern China in recent years, this movement involves the Fujian strain. In areas west of China, this movement involves the Qinghai strain (clade 2.2) or a clade 2.2.3 variant, the Uva Lake strain. In late 2006 there was speculation that the spread of the Fujian strain in southern China and southeast east represented a “third wave” which would lead to the dominance of the Fujian strain worldwide. This speculation was without a sound basis because the data was based on samples collected between mid 2005 and mid 2006, when the vast majority of isolates from fecal samples from farms in southern China were the Fujian strain. However, in the same time period, the Qinghai strain was spreading to 50 countries west of China, and the testing from China yielder only one Qinghai isolate (from Shantou) out of 404 reported isolates. Subsequently, reports of the Fujian strain have been limited to southern China and southeast Asia, while the Qinghai strain, or the Uva Lake variant, has been reported west of China in an increasing number of countries. Thus, the H5 in Hong Kong provides additional evidence for H5N1 in wild birds, and the recurring pattern involves clade specific transport and transmission by wild birds. Media Links Recombinomics Presentations Recombinomics Publications Recombinomics Paper at Nature Precedings |
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