Via the Hong Kong government website: Info sought on Mainland dog flu reports. The real story is in the last paragraph. Excerpt:
The Centre for Health Protection and the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department will follow up on the reports that some Mainland dogs tested positive to human swine flu virus, Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow says.
Speaking to reporters this morning, Dr Chow said it is difficult to judge whether dog owners will face a higher risk at this stage because health officials need to collect more data.
"There are always opportunities for the virus to spread from species to species. The occurrence of that might not be that unpredictable. Our concern is what exactly happens to the dogs, and whether it is transmitted from humans to dogs or between dogs.
"The other thing is whether the viral genetic structure has changed after the transmission. So there are many questions that need to be answered before we can make a judgement of the implication of these transmissions."
In response to reports that a number of human swine flu patients in Shenzhen have developed encephalitis, Dr Chow said the Government will ask the Mainland authorities for more information.
