Environment and Food Secretary Lily Yam told reporters, "the resumption of live poultry supply including chicken will start on June 16" at wholesale markets.

The resumption of live poultry sales follows a cleaning and disinfection campaign in poultry markets, and a two-week operation to slaughter an estimated one million chickens, pigeons and quails at local farms that started on May 21.

Although the bird flu virus had been detected at three Hong Kong markets, the authorities stressed it was different from an H5N1 strain responsible for an outbreak in 1997 in which six people died.

Yam said experts came to the conclusion that on this particular occasion the viruses in chickens started from "a reassortment of H5N1 bird virus."

"There is sufficient scientific evidence to demonstrate that when the virus carried by ducks and geese, it combines with the virus that is present in live quails and this reassortment of viruses spreads to chickens, there is a high possibility that the resulting reassortment would affect human beings," said Yam.

She said the experts were unanimous in the view that it was not possible to identify one single route for these viruses to pass to chickens.

As a result, Yam said health officials would take regular blood samples from live poultry and live quails and live chickens would not be banned from being sold in the same place.

Other measures included a one day a month shut down of wholesale markets for cleaning and disinfecting.

Meanwhile, resumption of sales of ducks from the mainland started on Monday to be followed by sales of geese on Tuesday.

To prevent cross-contamination of poultry during their transportation, all trucks carrying livestock have to be registered. Separate vehicles have to carry ducks and chickens.

"I am confident that all the measures that we are taking, together with our existing surveillance system, would reduce the possibility of cross-contamination and the spread of various disease," said Yam.

A conference of experts from Hong Kong and the mainland will be held "as soon as possible" in order to learn from the bird flu outbreaks, she said.

Yam also cautioned that there was no guarantee against the possibility of another outbreak of bird flu despite additional measures and surveillance.

"As long as we do not change the present mode of operation, we don't change our eating habits, I cannot rule out exactly another avian flu in Hong Kong," she said, referring to Hong Kong's preference for fresh meat.

(China Daily 06/11/2001)