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H7N9 virus
ChinaPolitics

Chinese cities shut markets selling live poultry as bird flu deaths surge to 100 this season

Trade suspended in Guangzhou, Changsha and the entire Zhejiang province, among other areas

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The live poultry trade has been temporarily halted in the cities of Guangzhou in the south, Changsha in central China, and the entire eastern province of Zhejiang, among other areas. Photo: AP
Agence France-Presse

China’s deadliest outbreak of the H7N9 strain of bird flu has spurred several cities to suspend live poultry trade.

The live poultry trade has been temporarily halted in the cities of Guangzhou in the south, Changsha in central China, and the entire eastern province of Zhejiang, among other areas.

Zhejiang alone reported 35 infections in January, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted officials saying.

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Nationwide, the virus killed 79 people last month. The 79 deaths compared with just five in January 2016, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

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The commission said on Wednesday that by the end of January, a total of 100 people had died in the current bird flu season, which commonly emerges in winter and continues into the spring.

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