Guangdong's first H7N9 virus is from live chicken

The first H7N9 virus-positive sample from Guangdong province was confirmed to be a live-chicken sample from a poultry wholesale bazaar in the province's Dongguan city over the weekend.

But no H7N9 bird flu cases have been detected in the 198 people who have been working close to the poultry wholesale bazaar in Dongguan's Dongcheng district since April 27.

He Jianfeng, director of Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said April 27 was when a suspected H7N9 virus case was reported from a chicken sample there.

"The chicken is just a virus carrier, and the chicken itself did not become ill," He told local media on Sunday.

To prevent H7N9 from spreading in the southern province, 89,864 poultry were immediately slaughtered, and major poultry farms and bazaars have been sterilized in Dongguan, a booming city in the Pearl River delta, he said.

By the end of May 5, government departments had launched inspections of more than 130,000 poultry farms and special bazaars in the province, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

None of the 2,918 personnel who have close contact with live poultry in the province were found to have contracted the deadly H7N9 virus bird flu, He added.

He urged locals not to panic, as chickens still have to pass strict examinations on H7N9 virus before they are allowed to be sold in local bazaars and in local hotels and restaurants.