**********************
Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at the Legislative Council Building today (December 11):
Reporter: The smuggling of fertilised eggs...what has been done to address the situation?
Secretary for Food and Health: The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department sent their inspectors to our farms on a regular basis, averaging about once a week. And they also recorded down the number of chicken breeders, young chicks and also fertilised eggs. So the numbers have been kept on a regular basis. With the preliminary figures we do not see any significant change of numbers on the farms in Hong Kong. But since the trade also said that it is a common practice, so we will do another round in the coming days to ensure our system is complied with. I have to say also that our departments are aware that last time when we had the H5N1 virus in our market in June, it is very closely related to the Dragon Boat Festival. So this time close to the winter solstice, we have reminded and sent a letter to the trade and recommended to them that if they see any unlawful activities or smuggling of chickens and so on, they should report to us. So far we have not received any reports from the trade.
Reporter: ...to do with smuggled chickens and fertilised eggs?
Secretary for Food and Health: I think theoretically this can happen, but we do not have any evidence so far. I would appeal to the trade to give us any evidence if they can actually provide information.
Reporter: (Positive samples?)
Secretary for Food and Health: No. We have been examining the samples we have collected. So far there are two farms in the vicinity of this three-kilometre radius. And we have tested the chickens in the second farm, which turned out to be negative for H5. The other farms we have also tested in sequence, most of them are also negative. So far, we have not found any positive samples from the other farms. But we will do more samples in the coming weeks.
(Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, December 11, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:49
NNNN
