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Hong Kong has its first case of bird flu in seven years
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Hong Kong has recorded its first case of H5N1 influenza (bird flu) in seven years, and authorities are taking measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
According to Chinese media, H5N1 flu was diagnosed in a 59-year-old Hong Kong resident who returned from a trip to mainland China on November 1. The patient was hospitalized, her condition is assessed as serious. Health services examined eight people who had close contact with the patient, including her husband and two children, and they showed no signs of the disease.
As of today, the Hong Kong Department of Health has declared an elevated level of epidemic threat, and a hotline has been set up to promptly receive signals from the public about possible cases of the disease. It is not yet known whether the patient was infected after returning to Hong Kong or during her stay on the mainland.
The disease now known as avian influenza is an infectious disease of birds caused by a strain of the influenza A virus. Scientists believe that migratory birds play a key role in the spread of the infection. Poultry, including chickens and turkeys, are particularly susceptible to epidemics. The first confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza was reported in Hong Kong in 1997.
Let us recall that in March of this year, an outbreak of bird flu was recorded on a poultry farm in the Romanian village of Letea, not far from the border with Ukraine. All the birds on the infected farm were destroyed.
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