Date: Feb 17th 2014 11:06a.m.

Contributed by:
amesterdance

Since the resurgence of bird flu deaths during the past Spring Festival, the city of Guangzhou decided last Friday to close all live poultry markets in the city to avoid spreading the virus, according to Xinhua News. The decision to close all markets came after another death and a new infection due to the H7N9 virus was reported in the province after over 120 human cases have been reported and at least 32 deaths. 

The closings have made drastic losses on the poultry business calling for numerous losses equating to nearly 1 billion yuan per month since the last bird flu outbreak in 2012:

The live poultry industry lost 70 billion yuan during the last bird flu outbreak in April, 2012, and Guangdong was among the worst affected, according to Chen Yingfeng, president of Guangdong Poultry Industry Association.

 

Over this latest period, the industry is losing more than 1 billion yuan each month, Chen added.

 

Beijing closed live poultry markets in 2005. The ban is believed to be effective in controlling the virus by blocking the primary source of infection: close contact between humans and poultry.

Though the enforcement of live poutry sales has been put to a halt, consumption is still a concern though properly cooked chicken is apparently safe to eat. With all the bird flu scares and the mutating viruses around, how do you think is the best way to avoid the bird flu? We want to hear your thoughts!