Authorities in China’s third-largest city warned that about 30 percent of its live poultry markets were contaminated with the influenza A virus subtype H7N9, the China Daily reported yesterday.
The newspaper said the disease control authority in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, urged residents to avoid contact with live poultry after tests in the past week.
Guangzhou, a major port and transportation hub, last month said it would suspend the trade of live and slaughtered poultry for three-day periods through next month to prevent the spread of avian flu to humans.
The latest warning will reinforce concerns about the spread of the virus, as the death toll in China this winter last week hit 30 and neighboring South Korea and Japan battle major outbreaks.
SPREADING OUTBREAK
Chinese disease control experts have warned the public to stay alert for H7N9 avian flu, with more than 100 cases of human infections reported over the last two-and-a-half months.
In December last year alone, China had 106 cases of human infections, according to the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission.
The virus is likely to strike in winter and spring, and farmers have in recent years ramped up measures such as cleaning regimes to prevent the disease.
China has confirmed five bird flu outbreaks among poultry this winter, which has led to the culling of more than 175,000 birds.
Many major cities in the world’s third-largest producer of broiler chickens and the second-biggest consumer of poultry have also closed some live poultry markets after people and chickens were infected by avian flu strains.
Widespread infection can lead to severe health risks and big financial losses.
The last major outbreak in China was in 2013, killing 36 people and causing more than US$6 billion in losses for the agricultural sector.
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