PlanetArk 7 Feb 08;
HONG KONG - Hong Kong shut a bird reserve for three weeks on Wednesday following the discovery of a dead wild egret suspected of carrying bird flu.
The carcass of a wild great egret was found on Saturday in northern Yuen Long, near the Mai Po Nature Reserve which has been closed to the public as a precautionary measure.
It was being treated as a "suspected case" of H5 avian flu, with further tests being carried out.
"We will monitor the situation closely and review the closure period as necessary," said a spokesman for Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
The same reserve was closed in December for a similar period after a bird tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus.
Experts fear the H5N1 strain, which remains mainly an animal disease but has infected humans, could mutate to a form that spreads easily among people.
Aviaries at a popular Hong Kong theme park, Ocean Park, were closed this month after the discovery of a wild heron suspected of dying from bird flu. (Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Nick Macfie)
