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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Asymptomatic H5N1 Chickens in Hong Kong |
| 2008-06-09 |
| The above translation indicates there were no usual poultry deaths in stalls that tested positive for H5N1. The detection of H5N1 in 5 of 20 samples in these stalls suggest the H5N1 infected chickens were asymptomatic. Asymptomatic H5N1 infections are more common in waterfowl, raising concerns that either the H5N1 has changed, or the chickens have protective immunity that keeps birds asymptomatic, but allows for viral shedding. Asymptomatic chickens have been reported previously in Vietnam, but that H5N1 was clade 1. The common H5N1 infection in southern China is clade 2.3 (Fujian strain), which has also been detected in wild birds in Hong Kong for the past several years. The current outbreak raises concerns of a significant H5N1 reservoir in southern China, which may be related to the wild bird outbreaks further north along the east edge of Asia, which lies in the East Asian flyway. The outbreak in China raises additional concerns of a global expansion for the Fujian strain of H5N1. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |