The government is deploying greater manpower at the border at the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, one of the busiest border crossings in the world, to screen travellers for elevated body temperatures, and tour operators are being urged to monitor the condition of individual tourists.
Some 4.2 million people are expected to cross Hong Kong's borders during the holiday, which runs from April 27 to May 1, most crossing via Shenzhen.
On Friday, government officials grabbed mops and rubber gloves to help scrub down markets in the city as part of a three-day campaign to promote good hygiene. To control H7N9 outbreaks, the city had stepped up patrols in poultry markets, Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam said.Hong Kong has long been ground zero in the fight against infectious disease. In 1997, after bird flu first jumped the species barrier, Hong Kong was the first city to be badly affected. The densely populated city was also ravaged by severe acute respiratory syndrome in the 2003 outbreak.
Although not nearly as contagious as SARS, in some ways the latest H7N9 outbreak was more worrisome than the H5N1 outbreak that started in 1997, said Malik Peiris, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong.
He said it appeared to be more easily contracted by humans when exposed to diseased birds.
Another challenge is containing the virus's spread among birds, which have no apparent symptoms, researchers say. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/hong-kong-bird-flu-alert-as-tourists-pour-in/story-fnay3ubk-1226631836014
