Avian influenza cases spur Hong Kong poultry trade bans

Hong Kong officials have banned the import of poultry meat, poultry products and eggs from three counties of the United States and one province of the Netherlands. The bans, announced March 30, are in response to recent discoveries of avian influenza in those regions.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said, in view of a notification from the U.S. authorities about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza in Stearns County and Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota, and low pathogenic avian influenza in Crawford County, Kansas, and a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of low pathogenic H7 avian influenza in the Province of Friesland, the Netherlands, it has banned the import of poultry meat and products from the four areas concerned with immediate effect for the protection of Hong Kong's public health, according to a report from Shanghai Daily.
A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong imported about 267,000 metric tons of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 530 million poultry eggs from the United States and about 15,000 metric tons of frozen poultry meat and about 12.3 million poultry eggs from the Netherlands last year.
"The CFS has contacted the U.S. and Dutch authorities concerned over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks in the countries. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

H7N9 avian influenza claims second human life in Hong Kong

A 65-year-old man infected with the H7N9 avian influenza virus has died in Hong Kong. He was the third person to be diagnosed with H7N9 avian influenza in Hong Kong, and the second person to die after contracting the virus.
The man, according to a Reuters report, came from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and had eaten poultry there.
The other person to suffer a death from avian influenza in Hong Kong, was an 80-year-old man, who on December 3, 2013, sought diabetes and heart treatment at Tuen Mun Hospital on December 3, but three days later he had flu symptoms. His death was confirmed later in the month. He was the second person in Hong Kong reported to have been stricken by H7N9 avian influenza.
Hong Kong's first human victim of H7N9, a 36-year-old domestic worker who had travelled from Indonesia, was last reported in stable condition.

Hong Kong reports first H5N1 case in 18 months

Hong Kong has reported its first case of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in 18 months, putting the country on heightened alert.
Health authorities said that a two-year-old mainland child tested positive for the virus and is in serious condition in a Hong Kong hospital. Tests have been ordered for about 80 people who came into contact with the boy, who lives in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. He is said to have visited a live poultry market in the last month.

Hong Kong resumes chicken sales after bird flu ban

Hong Kong has resumed fresh chicken sales after the end of a 21-day ban imposed just before Christmas due to an H5N1 virus outbreak, according to reports.
Three rounds of inspection on all 30 chicken farms in Hong Kong have been completed, with no abnormalities found, said York Chow Yat-ngok, secretary for food and health. The government also tested 4,500 samples collected from local farms. "Taking all observations and analysis together, we believe that the risk of avian influenza in Hong Kong — especially to humans — has more or less stabilized, and the supply of live poultry can resume as scheduled," said Chow.

BIOMIN launches new drugs at VIV Asia

BIOMIN, a company focusing on health in animal nutrition, announced it released two new products PoultryStar and Mycofix Secure at VIV Asia.
PoultryStar is a multi-strain probiotic product that helps in improving gut microflora which is known to play a significant role in protecting young birds and newly hatched chicks against colonization by harmful bacteria.
Mycofix Secure is the risk management solution against aflatoxins and fumonisins in animal feed.

Hong Kong bird tests positive for H5N1

Hong Kong authorities announced Friday that a dead chicken found in the southern Chinese territory had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.The government said laboratory tests confirmed that the chicken found floating in the sea off Hong Kong on March 2 carried the deadly strain.The statement said there was no poultry production within three kilometers (two miles) of where the dead bird was found, but warned farmers to be on their guard against the disease.

USDA, DOE announce $25 million funding for biomass research

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced up to $25 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy and high-value bio-based products, subject to annual appropriations.
"These grants will help support the development of a sustainable domestic biofuels industry by broadening the nation's energy sources as well as improving the efficiency of renewable fuels," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The departments will fund projects in the following three areas: feedstocks development, biofuels and bio-based products development, and biofuels development analysis. Award amounts are planned to range from $1 million to up to $5 million with project periods up to four years, subject to annual appropriations. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, national laboratories, federal research agencies, state research agencies, private sector entities, non-profit organizations or a consortium of two or more of those entities.
The funding opportunity announcement and the closing date for pre-applications is March 6, 2009, which must be submitted electronically. A minimum recipient cost-share of at least 20% of total project cost for research and development projects and 50% of total project cost for demonstration projects is required.