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Article: Hong Kong Killing All Chickens In Fight Against `Bird Flu' Virus; Other Poultry Included in Mass Slaughter Following 4 Human Deaths
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- December 29, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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In a dramatic escalation in its battle against a "bird flu"
virus that apparently has killed four people, Hong Kong authorities
today announced plans to slaughter all chickens in the territory, as
well as geese, ducks, pigeons and quails that may have been housed
near chickens.
The mass slaughter, scheduled to begin Monday and last 24
hours, will affect 1.3 million chickens from 160 chicken farms and
about 1,000 markets. Health officials ordered the step late Saturday
after they discovered the bird flu virus in samples taken from a
local chicken farm on Christmas Eve and after another chicken died
from the virus at a wholesale market.
The slaughter order was extended to all poultry ...