# 5170
Situated at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, which serves as a catchment area for dozens of tributaries flowing out of the highly industrialized and economically booming Guangdong Province, the northern shore of Lantau Island is on the receiving end of one of the more heavily polluted waterways in the world.
(Note: There are many fine beaches in Hong Kong, but they are carefully monitored, and some are often closed due to water quality issues. There are no `gazetted swimming’ beaches on the northern shore of Lantau Island.)
Almost two years ago (February, 2009) we saw numerous reports of dozens of dead birds – mostly poultry – washing up on the beaches of Lantau Island that subsequently tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
Despite Chinese denials, this sparked great suspicion in Hong Kong (never proven) that bird flu infected poultry were being disposed of somewhere in Guangdong Province by farmers dumping their carcasses into the river.
Some of my blog coverage of these events included:
Hong Kong Authorities Investigating More Dead Birds
All Eyes On Mainland China
More Concerns Surface Over China
Eventually the number of dead birds showing up on shore declined, and the mystery went unsolved. The H1N1 pandemic virus emerged 60 days later, and the world forgot – at least temporarily – about bird flu.
Yesterday, it was announced that another dead, badly decayed, and H5N1 infected chicken carcass was found on the beach at Sha Lo Wan, Lantau.
Once again, its origin is unknown.
Here are excerpts from the Hong Kong Press Release:
Chicken carcass found in Lantau confirmed positive for H5 virus
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (December 22) that a chicken carcass found in Sha Lo Wan, Lantau, was confirmed to be H5 positive after a series of laboratory tests.
The carcass was found and collected on December 18 at the seashore of Sha Lo Wan. It was highly decomposed when found.
The spokesman said there were no poultry farms within three kilometres of where the carcass was found. AFCD staff have conducted inspections of the nearby villages of Sha Lo Wan Tsuen and Sha Lo Wan San Tsuen. There was no evidence of any backyard poultry being kept there.
AFCD is concerned about the incident and will continue to monitor the situation. Inspections of the seashore and its vicinity will be stepped up. The department is looking into different possibilities of why the chicken carcass was found at the seashore, including whether it had been washed ashore or dumped.
Given its location (northern shore of Lantau island), its level of decomposition (advanced), and the lack of poultry operations within 3 kilometers of the find, the notion that this bird may have flowed down the Pearl River is not without merit.
We’ll obviously be watching with interest to see if this turns out to be a single incident, or if more birds turn up, and if so, what their point of origin is eventually determined to be.
