Hong Kong has stepped up efforts to tighten surveillance and strengthen communications with the Chinese mainland after a handful of birds have been found with the deadly H5N1 avian influenza.

After meeting officials in neighboring Shenzhen city Monday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow said the daily quota of imported live mainland chickens may be reconsidered by the government if H5N1 outbreaks continue in Hong Kong and southern China.

Chow said they agreed to enhance inspection of chicken farms supplying Hong Kong. If there is an avian flu outbreak in poultry farms near the boundary, Shenzhen authorities will join Hong Kong in culling all live poultry within five kilometers of the affected area.

"Shenzhen authorities have already reduced the number of registered chicken farms from over a hundred to 35. Because of the very stringent criteria of accreditation and licensing, they have regular checks on the farms," he said.

"They also have ensured all chickens are being vaccinated and they are testing the antibodies on a regular basis," Chow added.

Chickens exported to Hong Kong are observed for five days, and their loading on to trucks is monitored.

Hong Kong has also put customs officers on high alert and tightened surveillance to stop people smuggling birds and poultry into the territory.

In the past three months, Hong Kong Customs officers have detained 212 people and seized 700 kg of fresh and frozen poultry, and five live birds in a smuggling crackdown.

Assistant Commissioner (Boundary & Ports) Chow Kwong said Monday since the discovery of H5N1 in Hunan Province in October last year, the customs has enhanced boundary enforcement.

Last week, a chicken brought illegally into Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland was found to have had the H5N1 bird flu virus. The disease, according to the World Health Organization, has infected 161 people and killed 86 of them since 2003.

And on Monday, the government announced in a statement a dead magpie which was collected from a local village last Thursday and died Friday has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the fifth dead bird to be found infected with the virus in recent weeks.

In order to reduce the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza in Hong Kong, the government will amend relevant legislation to ban household poultry-keeping, York Chow said.

About 1,800 households keeping several thousand birds will be asked to surrender them when the ban on backyard poultry-keeping takes effect, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said.

Patrol teams will be formed to ensure effective enforcement of the new law.

Since Feb. 2, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has appealed to villagers to hand in their backyard poultry.

Under the proposed amendment, the existing exemption for households keeping not more than 20 poultry would be removed and that household poultry keeping would be banned in Hong Kong.

The unauthorized keeping of poultry including chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, turkeys and quails would be an offense and subjected to a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 HK dollars (6,452 to 12, 903 US dollars).

Source: Xinhua