Post date: Apr 06, 2013 9:3:12 AM
China's eastern financial hub Shanghai closes all markets selling live poultry and culls more than 20,000 birds as a new strain of bird flu kills six people and infects 16 altogether.
SHANGHAI, CHINA, (APRIL 6, 2013) (REUTERS) - Poultry stalls in Shanghai's wet markets were seen closed on Saturday (April 6) morning, with stalls empty and dead chickens in cages after a culling operation on the previous day.
A paper sign posted on a stall in one said that the market was closed until further notice, and asked the public to understand and cooperate.Authorities slaughtered more than 20,000 birds on Friday (April 5) at a large poultry market where infected pigeons were discovered earlier in the week.
On Saturday, state media announced that traces of the H7N9 virus had been found at two more markets nearby.
At one shuttered market, 64-year-old Shanghai resident Zhao Juying said she was pleased that authorities were taking preventative measures.
"I support shutting down poultry markets. If the poultry markets stayed open, the virus would continue to spread. So shutting down poultry markets makes people feel safe. This way it will spread more slowly and even stop spreading entirely. If the poultry markets close down, the virus can't spread," she said.
Four of the six people who have died from the new strain of bird flu were from Shanghai, a city of 23 million people and the showpiece of China's vibrant economy.
China's authorities and the World health Organisation (WHO) have stressed there is no sign that the disease can spread between people, the main cause of infection so far being contact with poultry.
Nonetheless, Shanghai residents like 59-year-old Cao Mofang were concerned.
"Many viruses in past years have been contagious so I'm worried about human-to-human transmission. I'm worried it will happen so I'm taking care. I think everyone should pay attention to it," she said.
Shanghai health authorities have said that the H7N9 virus remained responsive to the drug Tamiflu, and that the city had ample supplies to treat the disease in its current state.
"Now we have come to the conclusion that the virus is sensitive to the drugs we use regularly such as Tamiflu and Zanamivir. So if it's diagnosed early, treating it with Tamiflu will be very effective," Lu Hongzhou, a flu treatment expert from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, told a news conference in Shanghai on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Footage from Shanghai's Dragon TV showed workers in protective suits culling chickens at a market on Friday.
The outbreak has sparked international concern, with neighbouring countries increasing health checks at airports. Vietnam has banned imports of Chinese poultry.
In the United States, the White House said it was monitoring the situation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it had started work on a vaccine if it was needed.