December 24, 2013
China's Guangdong live poultry markets close for sterilisation
China's Guangdong province will shut all live poultry markets for sterilisation, and all poultry sent to Hong Kong are free of the H7N9 virus as assured by an official.
Tang Wu, vice chairman of the Guangdong Industry and Commerce Administration, said all live poultry markets will be closed and sterilisations carried out today (Dec 24) as well as on New Year's Eve. That will be followed by another round of sterilisations before Lunar New Year next month.
Tang stressed that live poultry in Guangdong farms that supply Hong Kong are all tested and are reliably safe.
He also said that there is no need to halt shipments from the province, as no export to Hong Kong has tested positive for H7N9.
Meanwhile, Zhejiang University and the University of Hong Kong are trying to develop a vaccine for H7N9, respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan said.
But he said that in view of the current trend of sporadic infections, mass production of a vaccine is not necessary.
He also called for a review of the existing rapid test for H7N9 after some patients in Guangdong took up to 13 days to be confirmed with the new bird flu strain.
The prevention and control team leader for H7N9 said the rapid test is not reliable and causes delays in treatment.