The Macao Special Administrative Region has launched temperature testing at all check-points amid the recent bird flu scare, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

The statement issued by the Health Bureau (HB) said the bureau has launched the testing at the Barrier Gate linking with the mainland city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, the Macao-Hong Kong Ferry terminal and the Macao International Airport.

Those arrivals suspected of being infected by the avian flu will be sent to hospital, said the statement.

It also warned the public "to pay close attention to personal hygiene and take appropriate preventive measures against the bird flu during times of travel."

Meanwhile, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (CMAB) has since Wednesday suspended the import of live poultry from the mainland city of Shenzhen, where a suspected human bird flu case was reported recently.

Also on Monday, Hong Kong North District Hospital (NDH) announced that a male patient was confirmed negative to Influenza A (H5).

The patient is now being treated under isolation and is instable condition, according to a government press release.

The hospital said the 31-year-old male patient who claimed he developed fever after contact with poultry in Hunan Province a few days ago and was admitted to NDH on Sunday.

In a separate development, the Hong Kong government had decided to stop poultry import from the mainland on June 15 after a suspected human case of avian flu in Shenzhen was confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong has started a three-week enhanced surveillance program, following notification from the Guangdong Health Department of the human case of avian flu in Shenzhen.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2006)