News: Government mulls bird flu response

Not much today, just some light reading, because tomorrow, it will be business writing and you'll need to pay more attention.

Image from medindia.net

The first news is from RTHK and the second from Miami Herald, both from today's internet. You can also pay attention to the writing style.

Government mulls bird flu response 18-11-2010 The Health Secretary, York Chow. File Photo The Health Secretary, York Chow, is to chair an interdepartmental meeting today to decide if precautionary measures are needed after the government raised Hong Kong's bird flu alert level to "serious" yesterday. Dr Chow said raising the response level meant there was a risk of contracting bird flu in the region.The move comes after the territory confirmed its first human bird flu case in seven years yesterday. A 59-year-old woman is in a serious condition in Tuen Mun hospital. She had recently returned to the SAR from mainland China. The bird flu virus first crossed the species barrier to infect people in the SAR in 1997. Six people died in that outbreak - and all chickens were culled locally.

Hong Kong officials meet after bird flu confirmed THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HONG KONG -- Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of human bird flu in seven years. Health Secretary York Chow said late Wednesday that a 59-year-old woman had tested positive for H5N1 bird flu after returning to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland, and is in serious condition in a local hospital. With the announcement, the government raised the bird flu alert to "serious," meaning there is a risk of contracting the disease within the territory. Chow said Hong Kong officials were meeting Thursday and would determine whether additional measures are needed to safeguard local residents. The bird flu virus first struck Hong Kong in 1997. Six people died in that outbreak and all chickens in the territory were culled.

Looks like we will be seeing more government ads on TV. Lucky that I am not a big fan of chicken meat.


Vocabulary:
mull -- from "mull sth over" 

phrasal verb 

[M] 

to think carefully about something for a long time
precautionary -- (adj) about an action which is done to prevent something unpleasant or dangerous happening
barrier -- (n) [C] anything that prevents people from being together or understanding each other
outbreak --(n) [C] a time when something suddenly begins, especially a disease or something else dangerous or unpleasant
cull -- (vb) [T] When people cull animals, they kill them, especially the weaker members of a particular group of them, in order to reduce or limit their number
contract -- (vb) [T] slightly formal to catch or become ill with a disease
safeguard -- (vb) [T] to protect something from harm


Resources:


RTHK
http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20101118/news_20101118_56_713510.htm
Miami Herald -- World AP
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/17/1931375/hong-kong-officials-meet-after.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mull-sth-over#mull-sth-over__2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/precaution
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/barrier_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/outbreak
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cull
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/contract_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/safeguard