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In Defiance Of Live Poultry Ban, Another Dies of Avian Flu in Guangdong

Posted: 06/18/2014 11:44 am

avian flu shadowWhile the live poultry ban continues to receive a cold shoulder from Guangzhou residents, the Guangdong Provincial Health and Family Planning Committee announced the latest death from avian flu on their official website on June 17.

The case was identified on June 9. The 42 year-old patient, surnamed Wu, was living in Jiangmen at the time he contracted the disease. The report does not specify when Wu passed away.

Meanwhile, the live poultry ban in Guangzhou has continued to receive a frosty reception from consumers. Already in its second month of implementation, the pilot project that replaces the sale of live poultry at local markets with frozen chickens processed at a central facility in order to decrease the risk of avian flu has not been doing well.

In a June 11 report, shop owners complained of poor business ever since the ban was initiated at the beginning of May:

At the beginning, I could sell 70 to 80 chickens in a day, but then, that went down to only selling about ten a day. Now, it’s gotten much worse as I’m not able to sell ten chickens. Frozen chicken doesn’t taste good, and there aren’t any repeat customers.

Ministry of Agriculture Head Zheng Weiyi hopes store owners will continue to support the government policy:

Because if you (the chicken meat proprietor) wait until the market recovers, you’ll be able to make more money than other (chicken meat proprietors). Right now, you have to find the path to success again, something you may not be able to find soon, but the government policy on frozen chicken will continue to be researched and adjusted.

A Xinhua report states “more than 120 people in China have been infected by H7N9 this year, with dozens of deaths”. However, A Flu Diary points out a discrepancy in the numbers:

According to last week’s CHP: Epidemiological Summary Of The Second Wave Of H7N9, the first wave (spring of 2013) saw a total of 133 human cases (including 43 deaths), while the second wave (fall-winter-spring) added 315 new cases, and more than 100 deaths.

Furthermore, Flutrackers corroborates this number to be above 300.

Photo: sun0769

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Relax: All Those Sparrows In Jiangmen Aren’t Sick From Avian Flu

Posted: 06/4/2014 3:59 pm

grain sparrows pesticide jiangmen guangdong avian fluWhen grain sparrows started acting strangely in the City of Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, people noticed. And people got worried.

Starting last weekend, grain sparrows were seen in large numbers foraging on the ground at the Guifengshan scenic area in Xinhui District, mostly unable to fly. Those that were able to fly could only do so at low heights and for short periods of time.

As reported in the Yangcheng Evening Report, resident Mr Yang voiced his concern at the ominous signs:

At times there are upwards of a thousand sparrows on the grass; they aren’t acting very lively. Even when a person is walking right in front of them, they will still not fly away.

READ: Report: Female Poultry Workers Most at Risk for Avian Flu

That does sound strange.

Other areas don’t have the same problem. It seems to the people here that these grain sparrows are sick. Does this have anything to do with avian flu?

We’ve been hearing how outbreaks of avian flu have been happening throughout Guangdong Province for years. However, a representative for the Guifengshan scenic area provided an explanation that should ease the worry of local residents: it’s not avian flu, it’s pesticide.

RELATED: New Avian Flu Cases Bring Total to 3 Since
Live Poultry Ban in Guangdong

The scenic area has been working with the forestry department to control an infestation of pine tree caterpillars that occurs annually each May and June by spraying pesticides. The sparrows have gotten sick because they have eaten the affected caterpillars.

And it’s not like the pesticides themselves are directly responsible for the deaths of the grain sparrows. In explaining the disappearance of the sparrows, the scenic area representative said:

Today, there are a lot fewer of them. In the past two days we’ve received a large number of tourists. Sometimes, people would catch or step on the birds. Park workers would stop this when it happened. When dead sparrows are found, we would promptly dispose of them.

Not avian flu at all in this scenario. What’s to worry about?

RELATED: New Case of Avian Flu Reported Despite
Plans to Ban Live Chicken Markets

Any lingering compassion for the welfare of these grain sparrows and the disruption to the local ecosystem at large should really be put aside. As the scenic area representative explains, since the use of pesticides is so effective at controlling the caterpillars, the death of the sparrows is something that cannot be avoided. The representative adds,

…we mainly spray [pesticides] in the area in which there is a high concentration of caterpillars. This will not have a great impact upon [anything else], and for this reason residents can relax.

Nothing to see here, folks. A sparrow is no canary, so by the same logic, this is no coal mine.

Photo: Yangcheng Evening Report 

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Report: Female Poultry Workers Most At Risk for Avian Flu

Posted: 05/29/2014 12:43 pm

avian fluA study made on Shenzhen poultry workers has brought more conclusive evidence that live fowl are the source of H7N9 infections, reports the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

An online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases jointly written by the University of Hong Kong and Shenzhen states that Shenzhen poultry workers were found to have asymptomatic or mild infections and had high levels of H7N9 antibodies as a result by a ratio of 7.2% in May and 14.9% in December of last year.

Similar findings were not found among the general public in Shenzhen, and is a rate higher than that of poultry workers in other provinces.

RELATED: New Avian Flu Cases Bring Total to 3 Since
Live Poultry Ban in Guangdong

The study also found that being female and working as a poultry worker for more than ten years are mitigating factors associated with infections, a trait which may be attributed to women being mostly responsible for many poultry-related duties including selling, defeathering, and cleaning.

The researchers suggested shorter stays in affected areas and twice-a-week disinfection protocols may limit exposure to the H7N9 virus from poultry workers.

Guangzhou recently initiated a pilot program to ban live poultry markets and distribute frozen chickens instead. However, Guangzhou residents were reluctant to partake in this plan at first, with rumors of a thriving black market in live chickens.

The last reported cases of avian flu in Guangdong Province were announced earlier this month. An 86 year-old patient surnamed Liu from Meizhou was positively diagnosed with the virus on May 15 as had a 37 year-old man from Zhongshan surnamed Wu, who was positively identified on May 16.

A total of ten cases of avian flu have been confirmed in Guangdong Province since April of this year.

Photo: Baike

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New Avian Flu Cases Bring Total to 3 Since Live Poultry Ban in Guangdong

Posted: 05/19/2014 12:05 pm

bird flu guangdong avian h7n9Two new cases of avian flu in Guangdong Province bring the total to three since a trial ban on provincial live poultry markets was first initiated at the beginning of May.

The two cases of avian flu were confirmed by the Guangdong Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission on their official website on May 17.

The report stated a positive confirmation for the H7N9 virus was made on May 15 on an 86 year-old patient surnamed Liu, originally from Meizhou, who currently lives in Pingyuan County, Meizhou.

Another patient, a 37 year-old man from Zhongshan surnamed Wu, was positively identified with the virus on May 16.

Both patients are hospitalized and are in serious condition.

The third case of avian flu to strike since the pilot program to ban live poultry markets was initiated is a 50 year-old Zhongshan man surnamed Liang who was positively diagnosed with the H7N9 virus on May 9.

A total of seven cases of avian flu were reported on May 1 and all throughout April in Guangdong Province.

The poultry ban replaces the closure of live poultry markets with a supply of chickens that are slaughtered and processed at a centralized location before being frozen and shipped out to markets for consumption.

The Guangzhou pilot program of the ban that began at the beginning of May initially encountered resistance from locals.

A survey revealed 38 percent of Guangzhou residents are not in favor of closing the live poultry markets, while 66 percent of residents believe that frozen chicken will compromise the taste and flavor of cooked chicken dishes.

Photo: forum.china

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First Case of Avian Flu Reported in Guangdong Since Live Poultry Ban

Posted: 05/10/2014 1:39 pm

bird fluThe Guangdong Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission has confirmed a new case of avian flu, reports their official website on May 9.

A 50 year-old Zhongshan man surnamed Liang, a resident currently living in Henglan village, was positively diagnosed with the H7N9 virus on May 9. Suffering from a chronic kidney disease, the patient is currently in critical condition at a Zhongshan hospital.

Prior cases of avian flu in Guangdong include a May 1 confirmed diagnosis of the H7N9 virus of a 53 year-old female patient from Luohu District in Shenzhen named Zhong, and a April 20 diagnosis of a 55 year-old patient named Wang from Shantou. 

Guangdong experienced an avian flu outbreak of five cases at the beginning of April.

In other developments, a Guangzhou patient named He that contracted the virus on April 8 has been cured and was released on April 23, while a patient named Zhou diagnosed on April 24 passed away of respiratory illness on May 4.

The May 9 report marks the first reported case of avian flu in Guangdong to occur since a six-month trial ban upon live poultry markets was first initiated in the city of Guangzhou on May 4.

The ban replaces the closure of live poultry markets by supplying chickens that are slaughtered and processed at a centralized location before being frozen and shipped out to markets for consumption.

Residents have been resistant to the new plan with sellers complaining of low sales, and few repeat customers. A black market selling live poultry has now been rumored to exist.

A recent survey revealed 38 percent of Guangzhou residents are not in favor of closing the live poultry markets, while 66 percent of residents believe that frozen chicken will compromise the taste and flavor of cooked chicken dishes.

Guangdong residents have proven themselves resilient at the threat of avian flu. In April 2013, Guangdonger were photographed transporting live chicken purchases as bird culls and avian flu threats substantially lower the price of chickens.

In related news, 20,000 chickens at a farm in Pinggu, Beijing have died suddenly, though preliminary reports say that avian flu has been ruled out as a cause.

More than 120 people in China had been killed by the H7N9 strain of avian influenza as of April 21, reports Xinhua News.

Photo: Hexun

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New Case of Avian Flu Reported Despite Plans to Ban Live Chicken Markets

Posted: 05/5/2014 3:41 pm

While Guangzhou implements its frozen chicken program that will phase out live poultry markets in the city, the Guangdong Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed a new infection of the H7N9 virus yesterday, reported Dongguan News.

The patient is a 53 year-old woman from Luohu District in Shenzhen named Zhong. She was diagnosed with avian flu on May 1. Zhong has suffered from bronchitis for 20 years.

Meanwhile, the latest fatality from avian flu is a patient named Gu from Heyuan, who contracted the H7N9 virus on April 9. Gu succumbed to the illness on April 21.

The last report of an avian flu outbreak in Guangdong happened on April 20 when the health commission reported a positive diagnosis of the disease in a patient named Wang, a 55 year-old woman from Shantou. Prior to that, Guangdong experienced an outbreak of five avian flu cases at the beginning of April throughout the province.

Meanwhile, a case from March has a victim’s family blaming the hospital for negligence. A Dongguan man contracted a fever and died four days after coming into contact with live poultry, but to the family’s dismay, the hospital refused to categorize his illness as avian flu. In related developments, online rumors that a Shenzhen doctor contracted and died from contracting avian flu have been denied by the Shenzhen Health and Family Planning Commission.

As we previously reported, the newest measure to help safeguard against an avian flu outbreak is the closing of live poultry markets in Guangzhou in favor of a centralized slaughterhouse that will instead ship out frozen chickens for consumption. However, a survey revealed that many city residents are opposed to the ban: 38 percent of residents are not in favor of closing the live poultry markets, while 66 percent believe that frozen chicken will compromise the taste and flavor of cooked chicken dishes.

Photo: 3158

Related:
Shenzhen Man Confirmed with Avian Flu, Now in Stable Condition
3 Year-Old Boy in Dongguan Diagnosed with H7N9
Bird Flu Which Killed Shenzhen Man Can’t Be Transmitted Between Humans

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Four New Avian Flu Cases in Guangdong and HK; Two Deaths from Prior Cases

Posted: 04/11/2014 11:38 am

Avian flu is the fatal herpes simplex B of China’s national health: a stubborn infection that keeps breaking out on the majestic face of the land.

The Center for Infectious Disease and Policy reports that there have been four new cases of avian flu that have been positively identified by authorities in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. These include:

  • An 81-year-old Guangzhou woman surnamed He, now living in its Liwan District, positively identified on April 8.
  • A 37-year-old Shantou man surnamed Liu, now living in its Jinping District, positively identified on April 9.
  • A 71-year-old Heyuan woman surnamed Gu, now living in its Yuancheng District, positively diagnosed on April 9.
  • An 82 year-old woman from Guangzhou surnamed Zhou, currently a Hong Kong resident. Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection stated that Zhou first contracted the H7N9 virus on April 7 in Guangzhou. Zhou was stopped when she tried to enter Hong Kong by car with two family members on Apr 8, and later positively diagnosed with avian flu.

 

All patients are hospitalized and are in critical or stable condition. This list of avian flu cases is in addition to the case that was positively diagnosed on April 1.

These four new cases add to a national total of 418 cases of avian flu as reported by FluTrackers, an international charity that tracks infectious diseases. 136 of these cases occurred during the first wave of the outbreak in the spring of 2013, while 282 cases have occurred during the current second wave.

An unofficial count of fatalities is now totaled at 126.

Photo: 81.net

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Shenzhen Health Dept: “Three Month Old Avian Flu Rumor is a Lie”

Posted: 04/8/2014 3:53 pm

white mask practice avian flu h7n9 Shenzhen city officials are reassuring an anxious public by dissuading any rumors that a Shenzhen doctor had contracted the H7N9 virus and died from a case of avian flu.

The city of Shenzhen Health and Family Planning Committee took to its official Weibo account to quash all rumors that any such situation had occurred at any of its hospitals, NFDaily reported. The officials called it a “complete rumor” and stated that all precautionary measures are taken during an outbreak.

If this news should prove to be comforting, it still does not come as decisive action. The rumor was first made on January 24, almost three months ago, a time made ancient by speeds of online networks; by now, James Franco would have gone on to promote his next movie with another social media hoax. But as to speculate why the Health Committee took so long in responding, it should be pointed out that a delay of three months is still not quite enough time to allow a doctor to contract the disease and then return from a state of death.

The latest confirmed case of avian flu in Guangdong was reported by the provincial health department on April 3. A 68 year-old man from Guangzhou has been confirmed with avian flu and is currently in critical condition. The previous reported case of avian flu came last week when a man in Shenzhen was positively identified with having contracted the H7N9 virus. 

At present there have been ten confirmed cased of avian flu in the city of Shenzhen: four have been treated and released, the rest have been sequestered and are receiving treatment. There are no fatalities so far.

Photo: aiqin88

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Shenzhen Man Confirmed With Avian Flu, Now In Stable Condition

Posted: 04/4/2014 2:32 pm

Because it was never really gone, and you’re not actually surprised: a new case of avian flu has recently been confirmed by the Guangdong Provincial Health and Child Planning committee, reported ChinaNews.

The patient is a 37 year-old man from Gaozhou, in Maoming. Surnamed Deng, the man currently lives in Longgang District, Shenzhen. Positively diagnosed with the H7N9 virus on April 1, Deng is currently in stable condition at a Shenzhen hospital.

Avian flu outbreaks have sporadically occurred in Guangdong. Twenty-two cases of avian flu were reported from January 30 to February 9 of this year, an outbreak in which a total of five people died from the disease.

Live poultry markets were shuttered from February 13 to 28 as a result, a practical move in light of the news that the H7N9 virus was found at Shenzhen wet markets last December that nevertheless remained open for business.

All the same, we heard back in December from a scientist that assured the public the chances of an epidemic in Guangdong are low. And what did Jesse Pinkman have to say about science?

Photo: jhtong

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Guangzhou shutters live poultry markets amid bird flu scare

Posted: 02/17/2014 11:03 am

Guangzhou has decided to close its live poultry markets to prevent the spread of bird flu in the city. The city announced that all live poultry markets would be closed from last Thursday (February 13) to the 28th, according to Xinhua.

The Jiangcun Poultry Wholesale Market is the biggest and busiest market in Southern China and most of the stalls were closed when a reporter visited on the 14th. Mr. Qin, who sells live ducks, said the closure is impacting everyone in the poultry business. “The closure is probably costing me RMB50 to RMB60 thousand. Although the market is closed, I still need to pay the rent, electricity and water.

“I can’t earn any money in these two weeks. Moreover, I will be worrying about losing my old customers. At the same time last year, ducks sold for RMB5 or RMB6 per jin [a unit of measurement in China], now it’s only RMB2 or RMB3 per jin. We sold more than 1.000 ducks, but now we sell 500 at most.”

Jiang Yongquan, a manager at Jiangcun, said the market has 140 stalls and sales are down by about 50% compared to last year.

Unfortunately these live poultry businesses will probably be suffering for a while yet. Beijing Business Daily reported on February 11 that the poultry industry has suffered direct losses of RMB20 billion so far as a result of bird flu. With the disease continuing to spread, there’s no word on when confidence will return to the market.

Home page photo credit: China Daily

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