NEW YORK (AP) — New York on Friday ordered a weeklong shutdown of all live bird markets in New York City, Westchester and Long Island after seven cases of avian flu were detected at bird markets in the city.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said there is no immediate threat to public health and that the temporary closure of bird markets comes out of an abundance of caution. No cases of avian flu have been detected among humans in New York, officials said.
The order came after seven cases of bird flu were found in poultry during routine inspections of live bird markets in the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the virus poses low risk to the general public. The agency said there have been 67 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the U.S., with illnesses mild and mostly detected among farmworkers who were exposed to sick poultry or daily cows.
The first bird flu death in the U.S. was reported last month in Louisiana, with health officials saying the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.
In New York, live bird markets where the virus was detected have to dispose of all poultry in a sanitary manner, according to the order. Other bird markets that do not have cases will have to sell off remaining poultry, clean and disinfect and then remain closed for at least five days and be inspected by state officials before reopening.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been spreading among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Officials have urged people who come into contact with sick or dead birds to wear respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry.
The Associated Press
