March 10, 2006

China's Guangzhou bans backyard poultry

Authorities in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, have banned backyard chicken rearing in its urban areas after a local man died from bird flu last week.

Community officials have been ordered to ensure that urban farmers cull their backyard stocks immediately and those in the rural areas have their birds examined regularly, the Information Times quoted a senior agricultural official as saying yesterday.

Canteens in the city have been forbidden from keeping live birds or slaughtering birds onsite. All live poultry markets have been ordered to close one day each week for a thorough disinfection.

The 32-year-old man surnamed Lao who died a week ago was the ninth bird flu fatality on the mainland. He had frequently visited wet markets before he died in a Guangzhou hospital March 2.