Hong Kong bans import of chicken and eggs from Lisbon after bird flu outbreak at farm

The Hong Kong Food Safety Center has stated that it has already contacted the Portuguese authorities and has guaranteed that it would follow the situation and the information issued by the World Organization for Animal Health “closely.”

The decision comes after this Monday the World Organization for Animal Health issued an alert due to an outbreak of the H5N1 virus, the so-called avian flu, in a poultry farm near Lisbon. The virus was detected on January 3 in a chicken coop of 55,427 chickens in the village of São João das Lampas, in the municipality of Sintra, district of Lisbon, causing the death of 279 birds, according to a statement from the World Organization for Animal Health. , based in Paris, which cites a report from Portuguese authorities.

In a statement, the General Directorate of Food and Veterinary Medicine (DGAV) stated that it had confirmed a “focus of infection by the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) in a laying hen farm in the municipality of Sintra, in the district of Lisbon. ». In the same statement, the DGAV says it has “immediately” launched the control and eradication measures of the focus, provided for in the avian flu contingency plan, which include “the inspection of the place where the disease was detected, the elimination of the affected animals, the cleaning and disinfection of the facilities, the restriction of movements and the surveillance of farms with birds located in restricted areas, in a radius of up to 10 kilometers around the outbreak.

Once “the evidence of circulation of the HPAI virus” has been confirmed, the DGAV calls “on all poultry farmers to strictly comply with biosafety measures and good poultry production practices. These include avoiding direct or indirect contact between domestic birds and wild birds, reinforcing hygiene procedures for facilities, equipment and materials, and applying strict access control to establishments where birds are kept,” according to CNN Portugal.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the DGS stated that “to date, there have been no reports of people with symptoms or signs suggestive of human infection with the H5N1 virus, nor have any cases been reported on the support platform for the National Surveillance System.” Epidemiological».

Low risk

The DGS emphasizes that transmission of the H5N1 virus to humans “is a rare event, with sporadic cases recorded throughout the world. However, if it occurs, the infection can manifest with a serious clinical picture. Since the risk to the general population is very low, transmission occurs mainly in contexts of occupational exposure through direct or close contact with infected animals or with tissues, feathers, excrement or inhalation of viruses through close contact with infected animals or contaminated environments,” reads the same note.

The health authorities add that the virus “is not transmitted by the consumption of meat” and that they will continue to “actively monitor the evolution of this outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Zoonotic Influenza and will maintain periodic communication, updating the population about the risk to human health.” whenever necessary.”