# 1760
For the second time this year, an oriental magpie robin discovered in Hong Kong has tested positive for the H5N1 virus. Additionally, several dead egrets have been discovered with the virus during since the first of the year, prompting the temporary closing to the public sections of a local theme park.
Dead bird in Hong Kong tests positive for H5N1 bird flu
The Associated Press
Published: March 7, 2008
HONG KONG: A dead wild bird found near a Hong Kong nature reserve last week has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu, the government said Friday.
Scientists confirmed the diagnosis on the Oriental magpie robin after several tests, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said in a statement.
Occasional H5N1 cases in wild birds are common in Hong Kong — there were 21 last year — but the territory has not suffered a major outbreak of the disease since the virus killed six people in 1997.
That outbreak prompted the government to slaughter the territory's entire poultry population of about 1.5 million birds.
