Live bird markets in the city, suburbs shuttered after avian flu detected
The state is shutting down live bird markets in the city and surrounding counties after cases of bird flu were detected in seven of them over the last week.
Roughly 80 live poultry markets in the five boroughs and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties will be closed this week after some markets in the city tested positive for a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu over the past week, said Elizabeth Wolters, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The strain has spread rampantly in wild birds since it first became prevalent in 2022, and has become increasingly widespread in poultry and dairy farms. The virus has led officials to destroy more than 25 million birds in 142 commercial and backyard flocks around the country over the last 30 days, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
While the virus has not been found to spread from human to human – a scenario epidemiologists fear could trigger an epidemic — 67 people have tested positive for the virus since 2022, with one human death in January. Positive cases almost always occur after suspected exposure to an infected animal, according to the USDA. No human cases have been discovered in New York, state Health Commissioner James McDonald said Friday.
Since January 31, the virus has been detected in seven markets in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, Wolters said. The state agriculture department has not released the names or neighborhoods of the infected markets.
Markets where bird flu has not been detected will have three days to sell off their remaining livestock. In the markets where bird flu was found, the policy is to kill the entire flock, remove organic material and quarantine the area.
The markets will have to undergo a thorough cleaning and disinfection regimen and remain shuttered for at least five days, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at the announcement. They must be inspected and deemed safe by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets before any market can reopen. The moratorium will last at least one week.
The infections were discovered by routine surveillance by public health agencies, McDonald said, and the state is coordinating with the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The state has traced at least some of the infections to two flocks in Pennsylvania, said Jola Szubielski, a spokeswoman for the state agriculture department. None of the infections have been connected to Crescent Duck Farm, a major duck supplier in Suffolk County, where the strain was detected last month.
