All live bird markets in New York City and several nearby counties must temporarily close in hopes of curbing the spread of bird flu detected in some of the markets last week.
The order, which comes from the state's Department of Agriculture, affects approximately 80 live markets in New York City and Westchester, Nassau County and Suffolk County. Seven cases of avian influenza have been detected in the markets in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn.
Markets with confirmed cases need to remove inventory, while markets with no bird flu detected have 3 days to sell or dispose of all inventory. All markets then need to be cleaned and disinfected before closing for at least five days.
“Public health protection is to be proactive,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement, adding that he “continue to implement these measured, common sense measures” to try to stop the spread of the virus.
H5N1, a form of avian flu, has affected more than 156 million commercial, backyards and wild birds in the United States since 2022. With the spread of avian flu around the world, public health experts are increasingly concerned about the live animal market.
As of last year, New York City had around 70 live animal markets, some of which were close to schools and homes. Most of them slaughter and sell chickens, ducks and quail, while a quarter slaughter large animals like sheep, goats, cows and pigs. They sell to local restaurants and the public.
State Health Commissioner James McDonald said in a statement Friday that avian flu poses no immediate threat to public health and there were no known cases of avian flu in New Yorkers. People who regularly interact with livestock and wild birds must wear personal protective equipment when they come into contact with them, he added.
Michelle Morse, representative of the city's health department, said in a statement Friday that the risks would increase if the virus were developed to transmit its ability among people. The department was working with the state to ensure that people working at live markets would receive information and treatment if they developed symptoms.
Still, some believed that the state's order on Friday was not progressing well.
“I am pleased that ultimately the governor is awakened to the serious dangers these markets hold, but simply closing down for a week is not enough,” livable and safe roads, years , an animal rights group documenting what is described as a “terrifying situation” in the live market.
Birnkrant said once the market reopens, they will still receive thousands of birds and other animals that have been sick with the avian flu and other diseases.
Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat in the state legislature in Manhattan, said the market should be closed in the near future, and it was a mistake to allow birds to be sold for three more days before cleaning and closing. .
Since 2019, she has repeatedly introduced bills that will create a task force to investigate the safety of the market and determine whether operations should continue.
“We follow all violations and tests in these markets, and they are consistently given violations by the Ministry of Agriculture, all over the place of the blood,” she says. I did.
“I don't think we'll be able to solve anything in five days,” she said.
New York State inspectors closed an average of seven facilities for five days after being hit by avian flu in 2022 and 2023, but not all H5N1, but reopened after washing and disinfection I was able to do it.
Last month, the owner of a duck farm on Long Island said 100,000 ducks must be killed after avian flu was detected there.
Apoorva Mandavilli contributed the report.
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