Chinese city halts bird trade over flu epidemic fears

A city in China has suspended the trade of live poultry after reports of human bird flu infections in neighboring regions.

The city of Suzhou, which is the second-largest city in the eastern province of Jiangsu, halted trading live poultry at Sunday midnight, People’s Daily reported on its website on Monday.

At least seven people have been infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu in China this winter. Two of them have died. The two deaths were reported in Anhui Province, west of Suzhou. Anhui has reported five human infections since December 8.

Officials in Anhui have also ordered a shutdown of some livestock markets and stepped up sterilization operations to prevent the virus from spreading.

About 100 kilometers southeast of Suzhou, in the major city of Shanghai, health authorities reported last week that a man had been diagnosed with the H7N9 strain as well.

In Fujian Province, authorities in the city of Xiamen halted poultry sales in one district on Thursday after a 44-year-old man was diagnosed with H7N9, state news agency Xinhua reported.

There have also been reports of human bird flu infections in Hong Kong and Macau over the past week.

The last major bird flu outbreak in China began in late 2013 and lasted until early 2014.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, health officials have detected the avian flu virus, but there have been no reports of any human infections yet.

SS