The Hong Kong government Wednesday said it will step up precautionary measures to guard against avian influenza since a suspected human case of H5N1 emerged in Shenzhen, a city neighboring Hong Kong.

A spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said authorities from the Chinese Mainland had informed the bureau that there were no avian influenza outbreaks in the registered farms for supply to Hong Kong nor at the non-exporting farms in Guangdong province and Shenzhen.

However, he said if the human case is confirmed by the Ministry of Health, the special administrative region will suspend the supply of live poultry and pet birds from Guangdong Province for 21 days.

"Hong Kong would resume the import of live poultry if no more human cases were found and no H5 avian influenza outbreaks had occurred in chicken farms in Guangdong and Shenzhen", he added.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department would step up inspection and monitoring of the hygienic conditions of the local poultry farms, wholesale and retail markets. The Customs and Excise Department would step up surveillance to crack down on smuggling of live birds and poultry.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2006)