************************************************************
The import of live poultry and poultry products (including poultry eggs and chilled and frozen poultry) from the Shenzhen Import Control Zone will resume tomorrow (January 22), the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 21).
Following the confirmation of a human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) (H5N1) infection earlier in Shenzhen, the CFS designated the area within a 13 kilometre radius of the residence of the infected person in Baoan Shajing, Shenzhen, as an import control zone for 21 days from January 1, after communicating with the Mainland authorities concerned.
Under the zonal approach policy introduced in 2008, in the event of a confirmed human case of HPAI infection within Guangdong province, Hong Kong will suspend the import of live poultry and poultry products from the import control zone (i.e. the area within a 13 kilometre radius of the possible place of infection) for 21 days.
"As appropriate monitoring and control measures have been taken by the Mainland authorities, and no notifications of further poultry or human cases of HPAI infection in that area have been received since January 1, we have decided to resume import of live poultry and poultry products from the area," a CFS spokesman said.
"The CFS will continue to monitor the situation in the area and take necessary measures to safeguard public health," he said.
Ends/Saturday, January 21, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:04
NNNN
