Why have an EIA Law? The Case for Public Participation
ELSA@NUS Law
Butterfly of the Month - February 2018
Butterflies of Singapore
Read more!
Best of our wild blogs: 18 Feb 18
Read more!
Malaysia: Cold weather on East Coast may recur
Bernama New Straits Times 17 Feb 18;
KUALA LUMPUR: The cold weather experienced in several areas in peninsular Malaysia is a temporary phenomenon but it can recur if the north-east monsoon cold winds from Siberia and China blow towards peninsular Malaysia.
Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia) director-general Alui Bahari said cold weather and thick fogs in the East Coast states, interior of Kedah and north Perak had returned to normal since Feb 12 with daily minimum temperature readings of 20 degree Celsius and upwards at the meteorological stations.
He said the cold weather might be repeated in February next year if there was cold north-east monsoon wind movements from China and the sky was cloudless at night.
“Climatologically, February is a period of lowest daily minimum temperature compared to other months in the states on the East Coast, the interior of Kedah and north Perak,” he told Bernama here today.
He said this when commenting on media reports recently that Kuala Krai on Feb 11 had experienced an extraordinary weather by recording its lowest temperature of 18.4 degree Celsius.
Alui said the cold weather from Feb 9 to 11 in Kelantan was felt in Terengganu and Pahang as well as in the interior of Kedah and northern Perak.
Meanwhile, Alui said MET Malaysia from time to time issued warnings in the event of thick fog due to cold weather and turbulent seas rendering it unsafe for sea and air transport movement activities. “The information will be channelled to the public and related parties including the Department of Civil Aviation, the Fisheries Department of Malaysia, the Marine Department of Malaysia and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency,” he said.
Asked on the possible recurrence of the Cyclone Tembin that hit the Philippines in December last year and its impact on Sabah, Alui said at present there was a tropical cyclone, namely, Sanba Tropical Storm in the southeast of the Philippines.
Accordingly, MET Malaysia would issue weather warnings from time to time for the state of Sabah if heavy rains and strong winds were expected to occur in the state, he said. -- BERNAMA
Read more!
Thailand: Dugong population at 20-year high
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN Bangkok Post 17 Feb 18;
The dugong population in the South has risen at the highest rate in more than two decades, says Kongkiat Kittiwatthanawong, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre.
Citing preliminary results of data collected in an aerial survey conducted from Monday until yesterday, Mr Kongkiat said 210 dugongs were found and the largest herd of the mammals observed consisted of 30 members including 10 mothers and their offspring.
At least 42 couples of mother and offspring dugongs were found and counted in the survey, he said.
The survey was conducted in Trang province, the largest habitat for dugongs in the country, using a small plane flown by foreign pilots, he said, adding that the locations included in the survey were Hat Chao Mai National Park and Mu Ko Libong Non-Hunting Area.
The number of dugongs found in the Trang survey will later be analysed and used to calculate the average population of the mammals, he said.
Also found in the survey were 19 dolphins and 57 sea turtles, he said.
In last year's survey, only 169 dugongs were found, he said, adding that the latest survey reflected a rise in density of the dugong population.
A key factor contributing to the population growth in the South is believed to be successful attempts to initiate cooperation in the fishery communities in avoiding using fishing equipment that may hurt dugongs and other rare marine species.
The number of dugongs found dead on beaches last year was six, he said.
Based on this year's figures, he said the number of dugongs found next year should probably rise to between 240 and 250.
Sitakan Thawisuwan, who specialises in rare marine species, said final figures from this year's survey will be released soon.
Dugongs, commonly known as sea cows, are often found in shallow coastal waters in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Read more!
The long road to ensuring that Singapore's waste doesn't go to waste
Expensive tunnels and facilities are being built to tackle mounting waste and help carve out a greener future. But current habits on the ground could end up costing the nation dear.
Derrick A Paulo and Daniel Heng Channel NewsAsia 17 Feb 16;
SINGAPORE: Deep below the surface, deeper than any MRT line, work has begun on a mega project that – within a decade from now – will carry whatever you flush down the toilet if you are in the western half of the island.
The 100km of tunnels and link sewers being built will then take all their contents to Tuas – where every effort will be made to give sewage a new lease of life, including turning it into energy.
This S$6.5-billion second phase of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) is part of Singapore’s new, holistic approach to ensuring that waste does not go to waste. (It comes after a similar sewerage superhighway to serve the eastern half of Singapore was completed in 2008.)
And with the start of construction last November, the work to reach a turning point in Singapore’s waste management strategy is now in full swing.
The DTSS joins two other projects in the works: The Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) and the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant (TWRP), which for the first time, will see two such facilities co-located on the same site.
This trifecta of projects will be wholly completed in 2027.
But much has already gone on behind the scenes, especially to make the co-located Tuas facility the centrepiece of an innovative and greener waste disposal system.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The S$3-billion IWMF, a solid-waste management facility, will sort household recyclables, treat food waste as well as incinerate trash and sludge – a by-product of treating used water – all on a single site.
This will get more bang for the buck and break new ground for Singapore, as the processing of these various waste streams has been done in separate locations until now.
Tests on the technology to be installed in the Tuas plant are now being conducted, such as the mixing of food waste with sludge from used water to increase energy production.
This requires machines called digesters, which process the organic matter in used water sludge and food waste, breaking it down into biogas and carbon dioxide.
The biogas is then used to generate electricity on site, with the excess power sent to the national energy grid.
Sludge collected from sewage treatment has long been processed in this way, for example at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant.
But it was only recently – after years of rising food wastage but a stagnant recycling rate – that food waste has been turned into fuel prior to incineration.
Singapore’s first co-digestion test facility, in Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant, was completed just over a year ago, and is processing a few tonnes of food waste a day.
“The fat, oil, grease, carbohydrates and proteins that are in the food waste, when combined with the used water sludge, will help to generate more biogas,” explained the PUB plant’s general manager Kelvin Koh.
“(Testing) such a full-scale application will help us to gain operational experience, identify potential gaps as well as ... build up to a full-fledged facility, in the future, at Tuas," he added.
He was speaking on Channel NewsAsia’s two-part special Looking Ahead, which examines how Singapore’s mega infrastructure projects are positioning the nation for the future. (Watch the episode here.)
ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY
With a solid-waste and a used-water facility on the same site, sludge and food waste will be easily available to make biogas. But that will not be the site’s only energy capability.
Like the four existing incineration plants, in the process of incinerating waste, the facility will produce electricity to run its operations, for long-term sustainability. Its incineration capacity will be sufficient to power 300,000 four-room Housing and Development Board flats.
In comparison with that, the 1,600 megawatt hour produced each day by the Tuas South Incineration Plant – which is Singapore’s largest waste-to-energy plant now – is enough to power 125,000 four-room HDB flats, about the area of Ang Mo Kio estate.
The co-location of facilities will ensure energy efficiency too.
“The processing of multiple waste streams at the IWMF and the co-location with the TWRP will enable the two facilities to maximise energy and resource recovery, and optimise land,” said IWMF project director Joseph Boey, from the National Environment Agency.
“The co-location has marked a new chapter. For future projects, we’ll continue to explore such set-ups, look into more synergies and attain even greater environment sustainability.”
SAVING LAND
Planning for the future is not only about energy, but also about land use.
For example, to keep water reclamation compact in Tuas, relevant technology is being monitored at another test facility in the Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant, while helping with Singapore’s long-term water demands.
In conventional water reclamation, dirty water passes through a settling tank followed by a microfiltration system. But that process can be combined using a membrane bioreactor.
“In that sense, we’re able to save space and have a more efficient footprint of our plant,” said PUB senior engineer Anne Marie Ang. She added that the membrane tank has been able to yield water of “clearer quality”.
This puts the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, a key component of the DTSS, on course to have the largest membrane bioreactor facility in the world.
The space saved with such investments in waste management will also go beyond the walls of the Tuas compound.
Once the second phase of the DTSS is in place – with tunnels built to last 100 years – the water reclamation plants in Ulu Pandan and Jurong will be phased out progressively.
As the tunnel system is being constructed at a gradient, the used water will be carried to the Tuas plant by gravity – without the need for intermediate pumping stations. These, too, will be demolished.
The entire DTSS will halve the area taken up by used-water infrastructure, from 300 hectares in the 1990s to 150 ha in the long term. This land freed up for higher-value development is equivalent to about 214 football fields.
TRAFFIC CONTROL
The roads are another space where efforts in waste management will make more of a difference, with the pneumatic waste conveyance system.
This automated system uses vacuum suction in an underground pipe network to collect household waste from multiple apartment blocks and deposit the waste in a bin centre.
With a central collection site, waste disposal lorries will not have to go from block to block. This will help to reduce traffic in housing areas, among other improvements to liveability, while residents can dispose of their rubbish as usual.
More than 100 private residential developments have become early adopters. And from April, installation of the system will be mandatory for new non-landed private developments with at least 500 homes.
Meanwhile, the HDB is implementing it in new developments where possible, including Tampines North, Punggol, Bidadari and Sengkang. The authority is also studying the pilot test of the system in Yuhua, before deciding on its feasibility for other existing estates.
Ease of transport is already a consideration elsewhere in the waste management loop.
At the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, after energy is extracted from sludge, the remainder is dried to reduce its volume and weight before it is incinerated in the western part of Singapore, and the ash taken to the Pulau Semakau landfill.
“We have about 13 trucks a day come to Changi to remove dewatered and dried sludge to our incineration plants. Without (the sludge dryers), we’d need 30 trucks a day,” said the PUB plant’s general manager Low Pei Chin.'
A CALL FOR CHANGE
One problem that is getting bigger, however, is the amount of wastage in Singapore: In 2016 alone, enough rubbish to fill 15,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This includes everything from the junk tossed out of homes to construction debris.
“It’s an urgent issue,” said Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources director (Environmental Policy Division) Ng Chun Pin. “So it’s very important for us to push (for) a strong national consciousness among Singaporeans, towards zero waste.”
The overall recycling rate is 61 per cent. This includes industrial and commercial waste. But households are not doing enough.
“The domestic household recycling rate hasn’t improved for many years, hovering at about 21 per cent in the last decade. To put it simply, our recycling habits haven’t kept up with purchasing habits,” said Mr Ng.
“We change our clothes, laptops and mobile phones – and much more frequently, with little or no recycling. We don’t reuse, we don’t repair, and many of these items, unused (and) brand new, end up prematurely in our incinerators.”
Without a change in habits, there will be consequences. At the current rate, a new incineration plant would be needed every seven to 10 years to keep up with the increase in solid waste.
And that is not the investment Mr Ng hopes Singapore will have to make. He said: “We’d rather build HDB flats, hospitals and schools for Singaporeans, not expensive landfills and incinerators.”
Watch this episode of Looking Ahead here.
Source: CNA/dp
Read more!
Pair with sugar gliders busted at checkpoint
Straits Times 16 Feb 18;
Immigration officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint made a "sweet" find in the early hours of Valentine's Day - two sugar gliders hidden in a car coming into Singapore.
The two animals, which are small, omnivorous, nocturnal gliding marsupials that live in trees, were found inside a pouch.
Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) also found 44 cartons and 210 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, hidden inside the dashboard and centre console of the car.
ICA officers referred the driver, a 25-year-old man, and the passenger, a 20-year-old woman, both Singaporeans, to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.
The duty-unpaid cigarettes and vehicle were handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the ICA reminded travellers not to import or keep wild animals as pets.
Under the Animals and Birds Act, it is an offence to bring into Singapore any animal without an import licence.
Read more!
Cleaning products a big source of urban air pollution, say scientists
Research shows paints, perfumes, sprays and other synthetic items contribute to high levels of ‘volatile organic compounds’ in air
Ian Sample The Guardian 15 Feb 18;
Household cleaners, paints and perfumes have become substantial sources of urban air pollution as strict controls on vehicles have reduced road traffic emissions, scientists say.
Researchers in the US looked at levels of synthetic “volatile organic compounds”, or VOCs, in roadside air in Los Angeles and found that as much came from industrial and household products refined from petroleum as from vehicle exhaust pipes.
The compounds are an important contributor to air pollution because when they waft into the atmosphere, they react with other chemicals to produce harmful ozone or fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. Ground level ozone can trigger breathing problems by making the airways constrict, while fine airborne particles drive heart and lung disease.
In Britain and the rest of Europe, air pollution is more affected by emissions from diesel vehicles than in the US, but independent scientists said the latest work still highlighted an important and poorly understood source of pollution that is currently unregulated.
“This is about all those bottles and containers in your kitchen cabinet below the sink and in the bathroom. It’s things like cleaners, personal products, paints and glues,” said Joost de Gouw, an author on the study at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
“When you think about how much of those products you use in your daily life, it doesn’t compare to how much fuel you put in the car. But for every kilogram of fuel that is burned, only about one gram ends up in the air. For these household and personal products, some compounds evaporate almost completely.”
Globally, the greatest source of volatile organic compounds are plants and trees, but the natural background levels are bolstered by vapours released from hairsprays and perfumes; cleaning products and pesticides; paints and lacquers, and substances such as formaldehyde, which is used in glues, plywood and other building materials. Yet more synthetic VOCs come from burning fuels such as gas and wood.
“It’s hard to say how much pollution is down to VOCs, but a rough estimate is that between one quarter and a third of all particles are made up of organic compounds that originate as VOCs,” said Alastair Lewis, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of York. In Britain, one of the most harmful air pollutants is nitrogen dioxide, which is unrelated to VOCs.
Writing in the journal Science, De Gouw and others report that the amount of VOCs emitted from household and industrial products is two to three times higher than official US estimates suggest. The result is surprising since only about 5% of raw oil is turned into chemicals for consumer products, with 95% ending up as fuel.
“This paper is interesting because it shows that domestic use of VOCs is beginning to dominate, displacing the traditional sources from vehicles and industry,” Lewis told the Guardian. “It’s a challenge for regulators since many of these sources, including cleaning and personal care products, aren’t controlled.
“If the paper is right then many countries will need to rethink how they plan to meet their international obligations to reduce emissions. The UK is already thinking about how to tackle and reduce domestic emissions,” he said.
William Bloss, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Birmingham, said the work highlighted a continuing need to understand real world emissions. But he added: “We have a much higher proportion of diesel traffic in the UK and we know that diesel use is associated with a lot of different hydrocarbons and particulates. I suspect that in the UK, traffic in the form of diesel vehicles is still the most important.”
Even so, De Gouw believes VOCs from household products should still be factored into policies on emissions. “London is a little different to LA because of the higher diesel use, but I expect that even in London a significant fraction of VOCs will come from these kinds of emissions,” he said.
David Green, who studies air pollution at King’s College London, said: “Organic aerosols, which are produced when these volatile chemicals react in the atmosphere contribute significantly to UK PM2.5 concentrations as they do all over the world. In London, where we measure these routinely, approximately a third of PM2.5s can be attributed to organic aerosols which come from a range of sources including vehicle emissions, wood burning and even cooking. This paper highlights a previously poorly understood source which is currently unregulated.”
Read more!
5 things you need to know about how the carbon tax works
Aqil Haziq Mahmud Channel NewsAsia 16 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE: Starting next year, the Government will impose a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as part of its commitments under the Paris climate agreement,
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech last year that the tax will create a "price signal" to incentivise industries to reduce emissions.
It will also create "new opportunities" in green growth industries such as clean energy, he added, pointing out that revenue from the tax will help to fund measures by industries to reduce emissions.
The tax will affect 30 to 40 large emitters, defined as those that emit 25,000 or more tonnes of greenhouse gases annually. The Government is looking at charging between S$10 and S$20 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.
The final price will be announced in the Carbon Pricing Bill, which will be introduced in the first quarter of this year.
While the tax will not apply directly to households, Mr Heng expects a "modest" trickle-down effect on consumers. The idea is for power generators to pass on the cost of the carbon tax, experts said.
The National Climate Change Secretariat has said that for the average household living in a four-room flat, the tax translates to an increase of S$1.70 to S$3.30 per month in electricity tariffs.
So, here's what you need to know about how the carbon tax works:
1) FACILITIES MUST SUBMIT EMISSIONS REPORTS
The bill states that facilities which emit more than 2,000 tonnes but less than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually must continue to submit an emissions report, in line with the Energy Conservation Act.
"Taxable facilities" which emit more than 25,000 tonnes every year must submit an emissions report that is verified by an independent third party and based on a monitoring plan.
Once the carbon tax kicks in next year, facilities will have to monitor their emissions for a year before submitting their emissions report by Jun 30, 2020. Emissions reports must be submitted by Jun 30 each year.
2) 'TAXABLE FACILITIES' MUST DEVELOP MONITORING PLAN
The monitoring plan must state how a facility ensures the quality of data required for computations in the emissions report. If required, the plan must also be independently verified.
The monitoring plan must be submitted by Dec 31 each year.
3) FACILITIES MUST CORRECT INACCURACIES IN REPORTS, PLANS
If the authorities find that an emissions report or monitoring plan is inaccurate or incomplete, they can direct the facility to rectify the document and resubmit it.
If the facility discovers an inaccuracy, it must notify the authorities as soon as possible. It should also describe the circumstances that led to the error and how it will be corrected. Where applicable, it should give an estimate of the greenhouse gases represented by the error.
Those who intentionally provide inaccurate information to dodge taxes can be fined triple the evaded amount, on top of a fine capped at S$10,000, and/or jailed up to three years.
4) 'TAXABLE FACILITIES' WILL PAY CARBON TAX IN CREDITS
"Taxable facilities" can buy carbon credits from the National Environment Agency (NEA) at a fixed price throughout the year. At the end of an assessment year, the credits are used to pay tax levied on their total greenhouse emissions.
The price of the credits will be determined closer to the date of implementation.
This system gives the authorities the flexibility to adopt other methods if and when needed, such as linking Singapore’s carbon pricing framework to that of a bigger jurisdiction.
Taxes must be paid by Sep 30 each year. Those who fail to pay the carbon tax can be fined triple the amount of outstanding tax. The first carbon tax is expected to be paid in 2020.
5) FACILITIES CAN APPLY FOR DEREGISTRATION
All facilities can apply to be deregistered if their greenhouse gas emissions fall below certain thresholds for three consecutive years.
But if they can prove that they have made “significant and substantial changes” to processes that will lower emissions "considerably" below these thresholds, they can apply for deregistration the following year.
NEA will approve such applications on a case-by-case basis.
Source: CNA/hz
Read more!
Indonesia: Fire ravages tens of hectares of peatland in West Kalimantan
Antara 15 Feb 18;
Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - A fire has razed tens of hectares of peatland areas in Pasir Village, Mempawah District, West Kalimantan Province, since Tuesday night (Feb 13).
Commander of the Mempawah District Military Command 1201/Mph Lieutenant Colonel Anom Wirasunu noted on Thursday that military personnel had attempted to put out the fire to prevent it from spreading shortly after it broke out.
"We had been at the scene on Wednesday for around four hours, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time. The smoke there was thick due to the land fire," he noted.
He said peatland areas in several parts of Mempawah District are prone to fire, particularly when the temperature is high.
The fire was spotted in three different places in Mempawah Hilir, according to the survey conducted by a joint team of personnel assigned to put out the fire.
"In just one of the three places, some 30 hectares of land have caught fire," he noted.
Several plots of land of dragon fruit and pineapple plantations belonging to local residents had caught fire in Sebukit Rama Hamlet in Mempawah District.
Although efforts to extinguish the blaze were undertaken since Tuesday evening, the fire has spread to other peatland areas at Sebukit Rama.
"Yesterday, we tried to put out the blaze using a fire truck and a robin portable fire extinguisher. (However, today), we have three robin portable fire extinguishers and a fire truck," he added.
Reported by Teguh IW and Aries Zaldi
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/O001)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Read more!
Indonesia: Dramatic decline in Borneo's orangutan population as 150,000 lost in 16 years
Fresh efforts needed to protect critically endangered animals from hunters and habitat loss as population more than halves
Ian Sample The Guardian 15 Feb 18;
Hunting and killing have driven a dramatic decline in the orangutan population on Borneo where nearly 150,000 animals have been lost from the island’s forests in 16 years, conservationists warn.
While the steepest percentage losses occurred in regions where the forest has been cut down to make way for palm oil and acacia plantations, more animals were killed by hunters who ventured into the forest, or by farm workers when the apes encroached on agricultural land, a study found.
Researchers estimate that the number of orangutans left on Borneo now stands at between 70,000 and 100,000, meaning the population more than halved over the study period which ran from 1999 to 2015. Without fresh efforts to protect the animals, the numbers could fall at least another 45,000 in the next 35 years, the conservationists predict. The real decline could be worse, because the prediction is based only on habitat loss, and does not include killings.
The bleak assessment of the state of the Bornean apes comes from an international team of conservationists who compiled one of the most comprehensive reports yet on the animals, which in 2016 were declared “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“I expected to see a fairly steep decline, but I did not anticipate it would be this large,” said Serge Wich, a co-author on the report at Liverpool John Moores University. “When we did the analyses, we ran them again and again to figure out if we had made a mistake somewhere. You think the numbers can’t be that high, but unfortunately they are.”
The researchers studied 16 years of ground and helicopter surveys that recorded the numbers and locations of nests that orangutans built in the trees from branches and leaves. The nests have long been used to infer the sizes of orangutan populations because the animals themselves are so elusive.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, the team describe how the decline in nests from 1999 to 2015 points to the staggering loss of 148,500 orangutans in Borneo. The conservationists identified 64 separate groups of orangutans on the island, but only 38 are thought to comprise more than 100 individuals, the minimum that is considered viable for a group.
The forests of Borneo are being fragmented by new plantations and building projects and the associated loss of trees led to falls in local orangutan populations of up to 75%, the study found. In the dense forests, orangutan numbers fell by 50%. While that is a lower rate, it amounts to more animals because most of the apes live in these areas. “This is the biggest chunk of the loss,” said Maria Voigt at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. “More than 70% of the orangutans lost are in the forest.”
Hunters in Borneo tend to enter the forest to find pigs and deer, but if they encounter a large orangutan, they can take the animals for food. Female orangutans are occasionally killed for their young, which are sold on as pets. Far more of the apes die when they venture on to plantations, and into people’s gardens, where they are shot or killed with machetes. Last week, authorities on Borneo found the body of a male orangutan bearing machete scars and wounds from 130 airgun pellets.
“We need to work with people to help them understand that orangutans are not dangerous and that it’s illegal to kill them,” Wich said. One approach that might work, he said, is to have Indonesian and Malaysian role models raise awareness of orangutans through social media.
“We know this decline has been largely due to hunting, and if we can turn that around, these orangutans could, over a long period, bounce back. When you lost the habitat, it’s gone forever, but the forests are still there. If we can stop the hunting and killing, we can reverse the trend.”
Emma Keller at WWF said: “Orangutans are disappearing at an alarming rate. Their forests homes have been lost and degraded, and hunting threatens the existence of this magnificent great ape. Immediate action is needed to reform industries that have pushed orangutans to the brink of extinction. Consumers can make a difference through only supporting brands and retailers that buy sustainable palm oil.”
Read more!
China confirms first human case of H7N4 bird flu
AFP Yahoo News 15 Feb 18;
Hong Kong (AFP) - China has confirmed the first human case of H7N4 bird flu, prompting Hong Kong to issue a health warning for those travelling to the mainland during the busy Lunar New Year holiday.
The strain was identified in a 68-year-old woman from the eastern province of Jiangsu who was admitted to hospital after falling ill on December 25 but had since recovered, according to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.
"She had contact with live poultry before the onset of symptoms," Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said late Wednesday after being informed of the case by Chinese authorities, who said the virus genes were of avian origin.
The world's first human cases of bird flu were reported in Hong Kong in 1997, when six people were killed by the H5N1 strain of the virus. Hundreds more have died worldwide in subsequent outbreaks, especially of highly-virulent strains like H7N9.
The semi-autonomous southern Chinese city is a high-risk area for the spread of communicable diseases because of its high population density and busy regional and international transport links.
"Travellers to the mainland or other affected areas must avoid visiting wet markets, live poultry markets or farms," the Centre for Health Protection warned after the H7N4 strain was reported by China.
Authorities in China and Hong Kong did not provide further details on the H7N4 strain found in the woman, such as its virulence. An outbreak of this type of bird flu hit chickens in New South Wales, Australia, in 1997, according to World Health Organization records.
Hong Kong authorities are already battling a deadly flu outbreak, and were forced to shut down kindergartens and primary schools early for the Chinese New Year break.
Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
visitors since Nov 07