Hong Kong approves new bird flu vaccine

The Hong Kong Government (HKG) has announced that will recommend the Re-5 H5N1 Avian Influenza (AI) vaccine for use as an alternative for the already in use Intervet Nobilis H5N1 AI vaccine. Hong Kong maintains a mandatory vaccination policy for its local poultry farms. The recommendation came after a 12-month field trial. Hong Kong installed its vaccination policy in 2003, but continuing re-occurrences of bird flu on some farms prompted the government to evaluate the vaccines efficacy. The first avian influenza outbreak in Hong Kong occurred in 1997 and the H5N1 virus killed six people. Over the years, the HKG introduced a series of measures to combat AI risks. Since then there was no local human infection other than two human imported cases in 2003, one in 2010, and one so far in 2012. There was no AI outbreak in local chicken farms since 2008. However, there was one chicken carcass found...