And what would summertime be without another global pandemic? "The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) of Hong Kong Special Administration Region announced on Wednesday that two pig samples taken in a flu virus test were positive for H1N1, but no significant genetic reassortment of viruses was found. The result came from a regular influenza virus surveillance in pigs conducted by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) at Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse from February to April. Under the program, pigs at the slaughterhouse were tested by blood, tracheal and nasal swabs twice a month. A CFS spokesman said given the wide transmission of the pandemic H1N1 virus in humans, detection of the virus in pigs would not be a surprise. It was expected that positive findings might appear from time to time in the surveillance program in future. The spokesman said that all imported live pigs from the Chinese mainland must come from registered farms and be accompanied with animal health certificates issued by the Chinese mainland authorities." [Xinhua] more ›

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced today that beginning tomorrow all kindergartens, primary schools, and care centers in the city will be closed for 14 days. It was decided after it had been determined that the recent H1N1 flu cases had been transmitted within the local community. From Bloomberg.com: "The government is well prepared and will monitor developments closely," Tsang said. "There's no need to panic." more ›

Thought the swine flu fears were ebbing? Think again! Beijing reported the mainland's first suspected case of H1N1 (if you don't count the Hong Kong patient that was transferred over from Shanghai) after a 30-year-old male Sichuan student developed flu-like symptoms. The patient, surnamed Bao, had traveled from St. Louis to Tokyo, and then boarded Northwestern Airlines flight NW029 to Beijing. Then, on the transferring flight to Chengdu, he began exhibiting hints of the swine flu. He has tested mildly positive for H1N1 and is now quarantined in a Chengdu contagious disease control hospital. Those in direct contact with him during the diagnosis have also been placed under observation. Source: SCMP. (Photo by benchau) more ›

Yes, we're sick of the scaremongering, paranoia and misinformation. While we're already cringing every time someone sneezes in the office or metro, we've realized what real paranoia is after spending the weekend in Hong Kong: doormats being disinfected every half hour, people talking through masks, masks being sold at every convenient store and an entire hotel being put under quarantine. more ›

From nocas via our Contribute page:

today we went to the restaurant downstairs and finally took a picture of this gem in the menu (which i dont think neither of us would have the courage to taste). and just now i found out that this same virus is actually lethal and killing children in anhui province. not nice.

From Mutantpalm.org comes a post about a Ming Pao report about a BBS posting (!) in which it was stated that some black-suit clad Freetibetters came into the subway and began playing tapes that advocated, well, you can guess what. This blog says the same thing. The four men got on on Line 2's Lujiazui and started playing the recordings and then got off. That blog post also mentions that security is a bit tighter on the subways these days, with security trying to make sure no one walks onto the subway with any appreciable amount of flammable material. more ›