News - IOL: Threat of bird flu hangs over Hong Kong

Hong Kong - Pedestrians are again donning face masks, handwash dispensers have sprung up in stores and offices, disinfecting carpets have been laid in hotels and notices tell citizens to observe personal hygiene.

Two years after an outbreak of SARS reduced Hong Kong to a frightened ghost town, fear and paranoia have returned to the streets once more as the arrival of winter raises concerns of a bird flu pandemic.

But as Hong Kongers batten down for an outbreak they have been told could claim millions of lives, experts warn authorities are overstating the risk and face, instead, a potentially damaging public panic.

IOL: Threat of bird flu hangs over Hong Kong