The day after the government decided to ban the import of live chickens from Foshan’s Shunde district, as a result of Hong Kong’s of H7N9 avian flu virus in a batch of poultry imported from the area, forcing the Hong Kong government to cull 20,000 chickens, Macau residents condidently predicted that an outbreak will not take place in Macau, adding they trust the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) to prevent infected poultry from entering Macau.
Hawkers who sell chickens in the popular Red Market told The Macau Post Daily that business had not been affected by the import ban, adding that their chickens are imported from farms in Zhuhai and Shiqi, which are some distance away from the one that was affected.
In the meantime, shoppers in the market said they were confident that what happened in Hong Kong would not occur in Macau .
One of them, who did not give his name, said he believed the poultry on sale in local wet markets had been properly quarantined and were examined thoroughly before they were allowed to enter the city, while another shopper, surnamed Lo, said local hawkers always cleaned their stalls and she would continue to buy live chickens as she was not worried about the H7N9 virus.
Meanwhile, Nam Yuet Wholesale Market Co. Ltd announced Tuesday that Macau ’s poultry mainly came from farms in Zhuhai and Zhongshan (Shiqi) and Foshan’s Gaoming district, adding that they are some distance away from the virus-hit farm in Shunde.
The company stated that it will decrease the number of chickens imported from the region in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Health Bureau (SSM) released a statement , reiterating its call to the public to keep good hygiene and cook all poultry thoroughly before consumption.(macaunews)
