All dwell chicken markets in New York Metropolis and a number of other neighboring counties have been ordered to be closed on Friday after inspectors discovered seven instances of chicken flu.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) issued the closure order for dwell chicken markets in New York Metropolis, Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties.
Westchester County contains New York Metropolis’s northern suburbs. Nassau and Suffolk counties cowl all of Lengthy Island to the east of town.
“Safeguarding public health is all about being proactive, and New York State is continuing our coordinated effort to monitor for the Avian Influenza,” Hochul stated in an announcement.
“My top priority will always be to keep New Yorkers safe, and I have directed our states agencies to use all available resources to ensure we are taking every measure necessary to keep the risk to the public low.”
The seven instances of avian influenza have been present in poultry in markets in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx throughout routine surveillance by New York state’s Division of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) final week.
Beneath the order, no poultry might be delivered to dwell chicken markets or distributors in these areas till Feb. 14.
Any market with birds exhibiting scientific indicators of chicken flu should contact AGM instantly to bear investigation and testing.
The chicken flu infections don’t pose a right away risk to public well being and there are not any identified instances of extremely pathogenic avian influenza in people in New York states, in accordance with New York State Well being Commissioner James McDonald.
“Those who have regular contact with livestock and wild birds should safeguard their health by wearing personal protective equipment when in contact with these animals,” McDonald stated in an announcement.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention has stated that chicken flu poses a low threat to the general public. As of Jan. 6, the company has confirmed 67 instances of H5N1 chicken flu in people since 2022 with most instances present in farmworkers in shut contact with sick dairy cows or poultry.
Since 2022, the virus has been spreading amongst dairy cows, poultry, goats, wild birds, and even seals.
A Louisiana man turned the primary individual to die in the USA from extreme sickness from chicken flu in early January.
The person was older than 65 and was reported to have underlying medical circumstances. He contracted H5N1 chicken flu after publicity to a mix of a yard flock and wild birds.
