11.   Researchers compared the risks of contracting the disease through contacts with live poultry, preparing poultry dishes and eating chicken a week before the patients fell ill.

12.   The new plastic cages replace wooden cages in an attempt to improve hygiene and restore consumer confidence in live poultry after the bird flu scare.

13.   The source said the government also planned to enact legislation to prevent any illegal importation of live poultry from the mainland.

14.   The study showed that the highest risk for contracting the disease comes from visiting live poultry stalls, a statement by the Hong Kong government said.

15.   This means that geese and other poultry in addition to chickens will also be destroyed at wholesale markets and in shops selling live poultry.

16.   Two concrete steps being planned could be the use of plastic cages to replace wooden ones for the live poultry brought to Hong Kong and a central slaughterhouse.

17.   But from July the government is planning to increase imports of frozen chickens from mainland China in a bid to wean the Hong Kong public off buying live poultry.

18.   What placed the promiscuous pathogen in an ideal position for causing an epidemic was the custom among people in southern China to buy live poultry in street markets.

19.   It recommended cleaner and bigger cages, reducing the volume of trade in live poultry, and enhancing monitoring for the emergence of new viruses.