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After the ban on backyard poultry keeping comes into effect next Monday, chicken vendors can continue to sell live chickens and are not obliged to warn consumers against taking them home alive, the government said yesterday.

The government gazetted on Wednesday a new law that will ban from next Monday the keeping of backyard poultry after one dead chicken found in the territory had tested positive for H5N1 and another suspected to have the H5 virus.

This raises the questions of whether chicken vendors keeping live chickens at their stalls would break the new law, and whether they should warn their customers against taking home the live chickens they buy from them.

In a written reply to these questions from legislators yesterday, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau confirmed that chicken vendors could continue to sell live chickens, and that they are not legally required to warn their customers over the possibility of breaking the law if they keep the chickens at home.

Dead bird in school

In another development, a dead bird has been found in the school yard of Diocesan Boys' School in Mong Kok. A red-whiskered Bulbul was found on Wednesday evening by students of the school who were rehearsing a drama on the lawn in front of the front entrance.

Yesterday morning the students alerted the school management, who cordoned off the area and notified the Department of Health (DH). Personnel from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, all in protective gear, came to collect the dead bird for testing.

A Japanese white-eye was found in the same school on Monday and was proven on Wednesday to be carrying the avian flu virus.

The school principal Terence Chang said that the hygienic conditions in the school yard have been heightened and the dead birds had been handled through due process.

After consulting the DH, he said students and parents shouldn't panic. The school management would brief them on the situation yesterday.

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow said that the discovery in urban areas of dead birds infected by avian flu was not surprising. He reminded the public to pay attention to personal hygiene and avoid touching dead birds.

The Education and Manpower Bureau yesterday issued the Handbook on Prevention of Avian Influenza in Schools, reminding schools to remain vigilant and step up prevention measures.

Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li said: "Student's heal and safety is of paramount importance to all of us. Avian flu could be effectively prevented should all schools take the necessary precautionary actions according to the guidelines."

(China Daily HK edition February 10, 2006)