The government in Hong Kong has restricted the import of live poultry and poultry products from parts of the Chinese city of Shenzhen due to concerns relating the detection of the bird flue there.

The move comes after a man who was diagnosed bird flu died in the southern city of Shenzhen. He ban on import is likely to stay for 21 days and comes as the authorities in Hong Kong increase effort to control the situation as H5N1 resurfaced in recent weeks.

Hong Kong suffered a major outbreak in 1997, which led to the death of six people and the slaughter of 1.5 million birds in the territory. The authorities had found a dead bird in the New Territories, which tested positive for the bird flu virus. It culled all 17,000 live poultry in a wholesale market after detecting the virus.

Following the case, the authorities decided to raise the level regarding the virus to "serious" from "alert," and suspended live poultry imports for a three week period from the neighboring Chinese city.

The ban by the Hong Kong health authorities on poultry imports is applicable to a 13-kilometer radius from the victim's place of residence in Shenzhen city, which is located just across the border from Hong Kong.