Shanghai Poultry Market Temporarily Closed And 98,000 Birds Slaughtered After Avian Flu Killed Six People

Photos: China dot org

The Shanghai municipality health officials ordered 98,000 poultry, including pigeons slaughtered and incinerated to prevent the spread of a new avian flu strain H7N9.

By H. Nelson Goodson

April 7, 2013

Shanghai, China - On Saturday, the Shanghai poultry market was temporarily shut down after six people died and 14 cases of the new strain of avian flu known as H7N9 was detected and had sicken people, according to China dot org, the Chinese news agency. The avian flu cases were first detected in February, but the Chinese government just issued a nationwide alert of the flu strain.

The Shanghai municipality government has shut down the poultry market and suspended all live sales of poultry until health officials figure out how the influenza has spread and its origin. 

An estimated 98,000 birds were slaughtered and incinerated as of Sunday, according Shanghai municipal authorities. So far, 194 people have been quarantine who been in contact with those who were confirmed with the influenza. Shanghai health officials confirmed that 10 people between the ages from 4 to 67 were infected with the influenza and four had died conflicting with earlier reports.

The recent influenza outbreak was detected a month after more than 19K pig swollen and rotting carcasses were discovered and removed from the Shanghai Huangpu River. Some of the pig carcasses tested positive with epidemic diarrhea virus and with PCV, a common virus for pigs, but harmless to humans.