Bird flu clouds some industries in China

BEIJING - As the H7N9 bird flu virus has infected more than 20 Chinese, some sectors of China's economy have also come under the shadow of the outbreak.

As of Monday, the country has confirmed 24 human infections with the H7N9 avian influenza virus in eastern China's Shanghai Municipality, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Seven cases ended in death.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said no epidemic link indicating human-to-human transmission has been detected so far among the H7N9 infections in China.

Governments at all levels have intensified efforts to contain the disease, taking measures including shutting down poultry markets, enhancing disease monitoring and making timely publications of information related to the disease.

Shanghai authorities have ordered the slaughter and incineration of more than 98,000 poultry, according to the municipal agriculture commission.

The H7N9 outbreak hit the poultry market hard, as people became less willing to consume poultry products.

In a market of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, sales of living poultry were bleak and some sellers even went home in fear of contracting the disease.

"Sales of chicken and ducks have dropped sharply these days. Although prices have fallen by about 20 percent, they still sell poorly," said one seller.

Analysts believe sectors related to poultry will all be influenced by the disease, including poultry breeding, feedstuff and the catering sector.

On Monday's stock market, the sub-index for the animal and poultry husbandry sector plunged 7.29 percent from the previous close, while that for the catering sector dived 4.01 percent.

China Quanjude (Group) Co., a Chinese restaurant famous for its roast duck, lost 4.62 percent to 29.91 yuan per share.

Some restaurants even removed poultry-related dishes from their menu.

Tourism and aviation stocks were also among weak on Monday's trading, as investors worry about the disease bringing about health concerns among the public.

Dun Jidong, a manager with the Ctrip.com, a leading travel service company in China, said the tourism sector is currently not affected by the disease. Whether it will be hit in the future depends on the extent to which the disease spreads, Dun said.

Han Meng, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the impact of H7N9 on the country's economy mainly depends on the continuity and scope of the disease and its harm to humans.

However, China has accumulated experience from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak a decade ago, and taken measures in terms of disease control and prevention and information disclosure, according to Han.

"As a result, the impact of H7N9 on the economy will not be as large as that from the SARS epidemic," he said.