The 29 local chicken farms would be inspected by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to check the condition of their chickens, health minister Dr Ko Wing-man said.
A cross-departmental meeting was due to be held on Monday concerning investigations conducted over the weekend into the incident.
“Based on the information gathered, we hope to make a risk assessment – whether we need to cull all chickens in the markets, and to see how long we have to suspend supply,” Ko said.
He did not confirm whether the suspension would last for 21 days as has been standard practice after discoveries of avian flu viruses.
Tracing where the positive sample was from would be a priority for investigations, he added.
“The supply of chicken from the mainland remained at a very low level ... The source of the sample could be from the mainland or local farms,” Ko said.
It took almost three weeks to confirm the result of the positive test after collection of the sample, but Ko said viral culture tests – a more accurate method – required more time and the results were yet to come.
Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority would monitor whether any patients developed symptoms that could indicate the virus and review their history of contact with other people. The Centre for Health Protection would keep track of poultry workers’ health.
H7N9 is one of the more severe forms of avian flu virus that can affect both birds and people, and cause respiratory failure, organ failure and death in humans.
University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung said the discovery this time might indicate a wider outbreak of the virus took place during the winter, when it tended to be more active.
He said as 90 per cent of live chickens were from local farms, the impact might not be limited to the Tuen Mun market if the sample was confirmed to be from local chicken.
One poultry vendor at Kowloon City Market said she had suffered financial losses due to the suspension of live chicken supplies – the most profitable part of her business. She also had to cancel 10 orders for live chicken from customers.
“Our workers’ wages come from selling live chickens. We do not earn much from selling frozen chickens,” said the vendor, surnamed Leung, who normally sold 100 fresh chickens daily.
She said she usually made about HK$30 from each fresh chicken sale, with the birds selling for up to HK$70 a piece.
One customer at the market, who did not wish to give her name, told of her disappointment.
“As I have a child, I prefer buying fresh chickens as they are local, hence safer. Since there are no fresh chickens now, we have to make do with frozen,” she said.
Another customer vowed to skip poultry altogether until the supply of live chickens resumed.
“It is just not as tasty, so I will cook something else such as seafood,” she said.
“As long as there’s no fresh chicken, I will not make chicken dishes.”
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