Flu fight: Centre for Health Protection Community Medicine Consultant Dr Thomas Tsang chairs the inter-departmental meeting on bird flu.

The Guangdong Health Department has notified the Centre for Health Protection that there is no human case of avian flu nor SARS in the province, the centre's Community Medicine Consultant Dr Thomas Tsang says.

With many people travelling overseas during the Chinese New Year holiday, Dr Tsang called on people who are going to areas with bird-flu cases to be vigilant and observe good personal hygiene to prevent infection.

Speaking after an inter-departmental meeting on bird flu today, Dr Tsang said although there is no case of bird flu in people in Hong Kong and Guangdong, recent reports of cases in other places on the Mainland and overseas, as well as the detection of H5N1 virus in local wild birds, indicate the disease remains a threat to the community.

Concerted effort needed

He called for concerted effort from the community to guard against bird flu in Hong Kong.

"The public should strictly observe personal and environmental hygiene, and stay away from dead birds, avoid contact with wild birds and live poultry and their droppings," Dr Tsang said.

"They are also urged not to feed or release wild birds, and surrender their pet birds to Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department's animal-management centres for disposal if they no longer want to keep pet birds."

Dr Tsang said close liaison with the World Health Organisation and Mainland authorities will continue to help stay abreast of the global and regional bird flu situation.