HK aviaries closed after wild bird suspected of dying from avian flu

HONG KONG -- Aviaries at a popular Hong Kong theme park were closed to the public for three weeks beginning Thursday, after tests on a migratory heron that died in the park indicated it may have died of bird flu, agriculture officials said.

The Black-crowned Night Heron was found dead Monday outside an aviary in Ocean Park, the agriculture department said in a statement late Wednesday.

Preliminary tests indicated the bird may have contracted the H5 virus, and further tests were being carried out to see if it was the deadly H5N1 strain, the statement said.

As a precautionary measure the government said it would close Ocean Park's walk-in aviaries -- a 1,580-square meter (17,000 square foot) canopied area where visitors can walk among the birds -- for three weeks.

It would also ask poultry farmers to strengthen biosecurity measures against bird flu, the statement said.

Feces samples from birds kept in the Ocean Park aviaries since 2005 have tested negative for the H5N1 virus, officials said.

Last year, Hong Kong discovered 21 wild birds infected with H5N1, but it has not suffered a major outbreak of the disease since 1997, when the virus killed six people, prompting the government to slaughter the entire poultry population of about 1.5 million birds.

A number of Asian nations recently have reported fresh outbreaks of the virus in poultry. Experts fear bird flu could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans and spark a flu pandemic.

At least 223 people have died worldwide from avian flu. Most cases have been linked to contact with infected birds, but scientists believe limited human-to-human transmission has occurred among familiy members who had close contact.

(Agencies)