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Although Hong Kong health authorities have periodically found evidence of the H5 virus among wild birds in the city, this week's incident is the first outbreak on a Hong Kong farm since 2002, when nearly a million birds were slaughtered after dozens died of the flu. No human cases were reported that year in Hong Kong, but two people died in mainland China from the virus in 2003. (Globally, 246 fatal cases have been reported to date, according to WHO.) Hong Kong has since taken aggressive measures to limit outbreaks by vaccinating birds against the virus and reducing...
Those measures may no longer be enough. This week's outbreak is particularly alarming because some of the chickens killed by the virus appear to have been vaccinated against it, according to the government. Lo Wing-lok, president of the Hong Kong Medical Association and an expert on infectious disease, says that Hong Kong uses an older version of the H5 vaccine than mainland China, where there are more frequent outbreaks and farmers vaccinate poultry specifically against the H5N1 strain of the virus. (See pictures of Hong Kong from...
While the older, umbrella vaccine has proven effective in the past, Dr. Lo says it may be losing its potency as newer strains of the virus spread around the region. A new study by University of Hong Kong microbiologists of a virus outbreak earlier this year found that chickens that had been vaccinated against the H5 virus had only one-quarter as many antibodies as those vaccinated in 2001. Yuen Kwok-yung, head of the University's microbiology department and an expert on avian flu, warned recently that the vaccine may be approaching total failure...
...That's a dire prediction given that further outbreaks are expected throughout Asia in the coming months, according to Peter Cordingley, a spokesman for the World Health Organization. Cordingley says he's not surprised that the virus, which spreads most readily via wild birds migrating during the winter months, has struck Hong Kong again. "I'm disappointed because Hong Kong has done so well since this outbreak started," Cordingley says. "But this is a very versatile virus. It's on tractor wheels and in wild birds. It may be found on a farmer's boots. We've seen this virus...
...even effective vaccination may only forestall outbreaks of the tenacious virus. "Vaccination is recommended WHO policy, but it's not a panacea," Cordingley says. Farmers and local governments around the region still need to be vigilant about testing birds for the virus and keeping wild birds from infecting poultry farms. "The vaccine by itself doesn't work. You can't just vaccinate and walk away...