February 18, 2014

China's Guangzhou City closes live poultry markets to stop bird flu

In order to halt the spread of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, the major city of Guangzhou in southern China closed its live poultry markets for two weeks through February 28.

Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, one of the hardest-hit areas in China's latest bird flu outbreak. Some 65 cases and 13 deaths have been reported by the provincial health bureau. The latest was a 78-year-old man who died February 14 in Guangzhou.

The virus is hard to catch and most cases have been linked to contact with poultry.

There have been at least 32 deaths nationwide, according to a news agency. In January, the health ministry said 127 cases were reported nationwide.

One market in Guangzhou, Jiangcun, is one of China's busiest, with more than 60,000 birds per day sold there last year. The market closures add to disease-control measures that have included the mass slaughter of chickens and other poultry on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong.

A three-month moratorium on live poultry sales has been imposed by Shanghai in China's east in January. Zhejiang province south of Shanghai has suspended poultry trading. Also in January, Hong Kong suspended sales of live poultry and imports from the mainland.

The World Health Organization says there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission but has recommended close monitoring due to the unpredictable behaviour of flu viruses.

Authorities confirmed a second human case of H10N8, a separate bird flu strain known to affect humans, in January. In the first case, a 73-year-old woman died in December.

Chinese live poultry suppliers are losing more than RMB1 billion (US$150 million) per month, according to Chen Yingfeng, president of the Guangdong Poultry Industry Association. During China's last bird flu outbreak in April 2012, producers lost RMB70 billion (US$11 billion), Cheng said.