Hong Kong began culling 15,000 chickens on Wednesday and suspended imports of live poultry from mainland China for 21 days after the H7N9 bird flu strain was discovered in a batch of live chickens from the southern province of Guangdong.
Authorities also ordered the closure of the wholesale poultry market, where the virus was discovered, for 21 days for cleaning and disinfection.
The chickens infected with the H7 avian flu were imported from a farm in the city of Huizhou across the border from Hong Kong, said Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man.