HONG KONG, Dec. 14 Kyodo
Hong Kong closed a nature reserve on Friday after a grey heron in the vicinity died earlier in the week and was found to be infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the heron was found sick on Dec. 5 at a wetland area in Lok Ma Chau, in the northwestern corner of Hong Kong’s New Territories.
It died the next day and tested positive for bird flu on Thursday.
As a precautionary measure, the nearby Mai Po Nature Reserve was ordered closed to visitors for 21 days from Friday, the department said in a statement.
Wild birds in the reserve and their fecal samples have been tested for the bird flu virus since 2002, the department said.
The reserve and aviaries in Hong Kong were closed down in February last year for more than two months after a dead chicken and a dead myna bird were found to be H5N1 positive.
The H5N1 strain killed six of 18 people infected with it in 1997 in Hong Kong, prompting the cull of millions of poultry birds.
The Mai Po Nature Reserve, an internationally significant wetland that is managed by WWF Hong Kong, is renowned as a paradise for birdwatchers.
In fall and winter, many birds migrate there, including the grey heron and globally endangered species such as Saunders’ gull and a quarter of the world’s population of the black-faced spoonbill.
To observe the marshes, local visitors must apply for entry permits in advance and then join guided tours. For naturalists visiting from overseas for only a short stay in Hong Kong, the application process is expedited.
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