# 5353
Beginning in December of last year, and sporadically over the past three months, carcasses of H5N1 infected poultry have been found on the beaches of Lantau Island in Hong Kong.
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, has been described as one of the more heavily polluted waterways in the world.
Industries, and farms, are known to use these rivers as a convenient disposal system, and what gets dumped upstream flows out to the sea past Lantau island.
In the winter of 2009, we saw a number of decomposed poultry carcasses wash up on the beaches of Hong Kong, presumably carried to the sea via the Pearl River, which flows out of Guangdong Province, China.
Some of my blog coverage of those events included:
Hong Kong Authorities Investigating More Dead Birds
All Eyes On Mainland China
More Concerns Surface Over China
Chinese authorities denied knowledge of any bird flu outbreaks in Guangdong Province and eventually the number of dead birds showing up on shore declined.
Today, for at least the third time in just over two months, we’ve another report of an H5N1 positive carcass detected on the beaches of Lantau Island.
For now, the source of these infected carcasses remains a mystery.
Goose carcass found in Lantau tests positive for H5N1 virus
Friday, March 4, 2011 Issued at HKT 12:06
A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (March 4) that a goose carcass found in Lantau was confirmed to be H5N1 positive after laboratory testing.
The goose carcass was found and collected at a beach near Sham Shek Tsuen, Lantau on March 1. It was highly decomposed when found and required a series of tests before H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed today.
The spokesman said there were no poultry farms within three kilometres of where the dead goose was found. AFCD staff have conducted inspections and found no evidence of any backyard poultry being kept there. The AFCD will continue to monitor the situation and conduct inspections of the area.
A ban on backyard poultry has been in force since 2006. Unauthorised keeping of five kinds of poultry - chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or quails - is an offence with a maximum fine of $50,000. Repeat offenders are subject to a maximum fine of $100,000.
All relevant government departments will continue to remain highly vigilant and strictly enforce preventive measures against avian influenza.
Despite a good deal of circumstantial evidence indicating that China continues to see bird flu in wild birds and commercial poultry, official recognition of H5N1 outbreaks on the mainland remains a rarity.
The huge population and geographic expanse of China make surveillance and reporting difficult, as do certain `disincentives’ for farmers and local authorities to come forth with bird flu notifications.
For a farmer, reporting dead chickens invites a major culling operation, a prolonged shutdown of operations, and inconvenient questions over biosecurity lapses.
And for local bureaucrats, sending `bad news’ up the chain of command has historically seldom proved to be a good career move.
So `bad news’ is often buried – or sometimes dumped into rivers and streams – locally.
While we’ve no proof as to the origin of these infected carcasses, we’ll continue to keep a close watch on Guangdong Province for any news of a bird flu activity.
