December 29, 2005

Shanghai sets criteria for market shutdowns during bird flu

Shanghai authorities have set four levels of criteria to decide whether to shut down live chicken wholesale markets during a bird flu outbreak.

A first-level alarm would be sounded in the city to control an epidemic and take preventive measures. This would happen when more than two districts report outbreaks or there are more than three cases in any one district. All designated live chicken and bird markets in the city would then be closed.

When one of the local districts makes a bird flu report, a second-level alarm would sound. Designated live chicken markets within 10 kilometres of the outbreak's epicentre and all bird markets in the city would be shut.

Bird flu outbreaks in eastern China and other provinces would trigger the third and fourth-level alarms respectively. For both alarms, poultry or any poultry products from the area hit by bird flu would be banned from entering Shanghai.

Local authorities recently banned the sale of pet birds in a bid to prevent bird flu.