Bird flu strain found in Hong Kong matches H5N1 found in mainland China.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Text of report by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post website on 31 January

The strain of H5N1 bird flu which killed an oriental magpie robin in Tai Po this month is similar to that previously found in mainland chickens, gene sequencing has shown.

"The H5N1 genotype [in the magpie robin] has been found before, not in Hong Kong but in poultry in other regions of China. It is more poultry-like," said University of Hong Kong Associate Professor of Microbiology Guan Yi.

Genotyping of the H5N1 strain in a second oriental magpie robin found in Shataukok last week is still being conducted. …