Poultry market closures halt bird flu, says Hong Kong study
University of Hong Kong study shows poultry market closures help protect public health
Closing live poultry markets, though a huge economic setback, is a sure-fire way of curbing the deadly H7N9 bird flu in case of an outbreak, disease control researchers said on Thursday.
The closure of 780 live poultry markets (LPMs) in the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Huzhou and Nanjing in April reduced the daily number of H7N9 infections by more than 97 per cent, said a study in The Lancet medical journal.
Most have since reopened, and China is approaching its flu season now.
Our findings confirm that LPM closure is a highly effective intervention to prevent human disease and protect public health
“Our findings confirm that LPM closure is a highly effective intervention to prevent human disease and protect public health,” study lead author Benjamin Cowling of the University of Hong Kong said in a statement.
“Without this robust evidence, policymakers would struggle to justify further closures of LPMs because of the millennia-old culture of trading live birds and the potential huge economic loss on the poultry industry in China.”
The study said losses associated with the closures in April have been estimated at about 57 billion yuan (HK$79 billion).
A total of 137 people have been infected by the virus since February, and 45 have died.
Live poultry markets are common in China and countries like Thailand, Laos and Singapore, and present an ideal environment for virus spread between birds held together in very high concentrations.