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New York has shut down live poultry markets in response to detected bird flu cases.
The outbreak has resulted in the culling of millions of birds nationwide.
While human infections are relatively low, the CDC has reported 67 cases.

Bird flu continues to devastate poultry farms in the U.S., forcing poultry market closures and, more dead dead birds and higher egg prices. On Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the closure of live poultry markets in New York City and three counties. “Over the last week, inspectors have detected seven cases of bird flu in poultry during a routine visit to live bird markers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens,” Hochul said during a virtual public health briefing. Bird flu has also caused egg prices to skyrocket, and an outlook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicting egg prices will increase about 20% within the year, compared with a predicted 2.2% increase for overall food prices. More than 156 million chickens, ducks, turkeys and other fowl have been slaughtered across the United States since the outbreak began in January 2022. As for humans, 67 people have been infected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

What are the symptoms of bird flu

Most people infected with bird flu in the U.S. have had mild symptoms. Symptoms of H5N1 birth flu infection in humans may include pink eye, fever, fatigue, cough, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, stuffy or runny nose and shortness of breath, according to the Cleveland Clinic While data is limited, experts from the College of American Pathologists said that farmworkers might have different symptoms than others infected either because of different strains of the virus or because they were infected in different ways. Farmworkers, for instance, may have rubbed their eyes after touching a cow that was contaminated with the virus and then developed red eyes, which is the most common of their symptoms. Someone who came into contact with a backyard chicken or wild bird may have inhaled the virus and therefore became sicker.

The order affects roughhttps://youtu.be/gjGle7g7Vh8ly 80 markets in New York City and in several nearby counties. New Jersey is also asking its live markets to voluntarily clean, disinfect and temporarily close.

All live bird markets in New York City and in several nearby counties must close temporarily in hopes of curbing the spread of bird flu, which was detected at some of the markets in the past week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday. The order, which came from the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets, affects the roughly 80 live markets in New York City and in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Seven cases of bird flu had been detected at markets in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn. Markets with confirmed cases must get rid of their inventory, while those where bird flu has not been detected have three days to either sell or dispose of all their inventory. All markets must then be cleaned and disinfected before closing for at least five days. “Safeguarding public health is all about being proactive,” Governor Hochul said in a statement, adding that she would “continue to take these measured, common-sense steps” to try to stop the spread of the virus. In response to the avian flu cases in New York, operators of live bird markets in New Jersey have been asked to voluntarily clean and disinfect their markets and equipment once their current stock is gone and to then close for three to four days before reopening with live birds, a state Agriculture Department spokesman said on Friday. State officials have also asked New Jersey companies that distribute to live bird markets to clean and disinfect their operations, the spokesman, Jeff Wolfe, said. Follow-up testing of live markets and distributors will be conducted, he added. There were no avian flu cases in poultry, including at live markets and in backyard flocks, in New Jersey last year and there have not been any so far this year, according to the Agriculture Department. H5N1, a form of bird flu, has affected more than 156 million commercial, backyard and wild birds in the United States since 2022. As bird flu has spread across the globe, public health experts have become increasingly concerned about live animal markets. There were around 70 live animal markets in New York City as of last year, some of which were near schools and residential buildings. Most of them butcher and sell chickens, ducks and quails, while around a quarter also slaughter larger animals like sheep, goats, cows and pigs. They sell both to local restaurants and to the general public. James McDonald, the state health commissioner, said in a statement on Friday that bird flu did not present an immediate threat to public health and that there were no known cases of bird flu in New Yorkers. People who regularly interact with livestock and wild birds should wear personal protective equipment when in contact with them, he added. Michelle Morse, the acting commissioner of the city’s Health Department, said in a statement on Friday that the risk would increase if the virus developed the ability to transmit between people. The department was working with the state to make sure that people who work at live markets are informed and receive treatment if they develop symptoms. Still, some believed the state’s order on Friday did not go far enough. “While I am glad that finally the governor is waking up to what a serious hazard to the public these markets hold, it is not enough to merely shut them down for one week,” said Edita Birnkrant, the executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, an animal rights group that has documented what it describes as the “horrific conditions” at live markets for several years.