Foot-and-mouth outbreak in Hong Kong

No plans to destroy infected animals in Homg Kong

More than 400 pigs have died after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Hong Kong.

But unlike in Britain, where thousands of cattle, pigs and sheep are being slaughtered, the government in Hong Kong has said the outbreak does not warrant the slaughter of any animals.

Xinhua news agency quoted a government official as saying there was no need for public alarm.

A spokeswoman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said foot-and-mouth disease was a common affliction among livestock in winter.

In Britain thousands of infected animals are being incinerated

Dr Leslie Sims said that the virus is easily killed by cooking and there was no risk to public health.

She said there were no known cases of human beings being infected with the virus and such transmission was "extremely unlikely".

The department urged farmers to properly dispose of dead animals including pigs at designated collection points.

But one local newspaper, Ming Pao, has reported that some pig farmers had been disposing of dead pigs in open areas near to rubbish collection points to cover up the outbreak.

In 1998, the Hong Kong authorities ordered the destruction of a million-and-a-half chickens after the discovery of a potentially deadly flu virus.

Three cases of foot-and-mouth disease have also been discovered in Taiwan, where in 1997 millions of pigs were destroyed to contain an epidemic.

Three pigs were discovered in a herd of 100 pigs awaiting slaughter at a market outside the capital Taipei, the Council of Agriculture said.

The three pigs were destroyed.