H9 bird flu detected at Hong Kong wet market after 2-year-old boy infected

A sample collected at Sha Tin’s Wo Che Market has tested positive for H9 avian flu after a two-year-old boy, who visited the wet market twice, contracted the virus.

The Department of Health. File photo: HKGOV.

Hong Kong’s health authority said at a press conference on Monday that they were following the toddler’s infection. The boy was diagnosed with the H9N2 bird flu virus last week after visiting the Wo Che Market twice in early June.

The Department of Health’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said that they collected 17 samples from the boy’s residence, a park he had visited, and the wet market.

Only one of the samples – collected from a shop at Wo Che Market – tested positive for bird flu. It was collected from a metal tray used to collect droppings, which was placed at the bottom of a live chicken cage inside the store.

The health authority said it was most likely that the boy contracted the virus by touching a contaminated surface at the market, the health authority said.

CHP staff collect samples at a live poultry shop in Wo Che Market on June 12, 2026. Photo: GovHK.

The risk of a local avian flu pandemic is low as the H9N2 bird flu virus involved in the boy’s case did not show evidence of human-to-human transmission or significant genetic variation, the CHP said.

The boy’s symptoms remain mild. He is currently hospitalised and in a stable condition.

“During our on-site inspection of the poultry stall, we found the environmental hygiene to be acceptable. However, when live chickens are within the premises, their excrement and faeces frequently drop to the floor,” Albert Au, a doctor and head of the communicable disease branch of the CHP said in Cantonese.

“Since young children are shorter in height, they can easily touch these contaminated areas when exploring their surroundings,” Au added.

The live poultry shop in Wo Che Market has been thoroughly cleaned.

11 cases in 27 years

The health authority said that avian flu viruses, which mainly affect birds and poultry, were generally classified as “highly” or “low” pathogenic.

Compared to other highly pathogenic avian flu strains such as H5N1 and H7N9, the H9 virus – which the toddler was infected with – is a low-pathogenic strain that causes milder illness. 

Hong Kong has recorded 11 cases of H9N2 infections since 1999, with five local cases and six imported cases. No fatal cases have been recorded.

The CHP said last Friday that the boy lives in Sha Tin. He developed a fever and mild diarrhoea last Tuesday and was admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital for treatment last Wednesday.