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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that the state is temporarily shutting down all live bird markets in New York City and Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties through February 14 after inspectors discovered seven cases of bird flu in poultry.
The cases were found over the past week at live bird markets in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx through routine inspections, Hochul said.
“For a week-long period, no poultry can be delivered to those live bird markets. Each uninfected market must sell down all inventory, undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection and then remain closed for at least five days. Each must then be inspected by our state Ag and Markets before they can reopen,” Hochul said at a news conference on Friday. “These are just simply measured, common-sense steps that will curb the spread of bird flu and ultimately, to keep New Yorkers safe, which is always my top priority.”
The governor said this is a “proactive” move to safeguard public health and there is no immediate public health threat.
About 80 markets are affected by the order, officials said.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said the state health department “is using all the tools at its disposal to monitor for avian influenza in human beings, and we’re prepared for widespread testing should the need arise.”
There are no cases of bird flu in humans in New York, McDonald said.
“These cases in the live bird markets were detected on surveillance. In other words, we went looking for the problem, and this is what you do in public health. We work together, and we look for problems,” he said. “This is why it’s prudent, and really, we’re just being vigilant about this because we really don’t want to have people infected in New York state. So really, it’s about protecting people.”
Live bird markets carry poultry, including chickens, geese, ducks and quail, that is slaughtered on-site. In such markets, birds are kept in cages where customers can choose what to purchase, according to a study of these types of markets published in 2021.
The live bird markets that did not have a detection of bird flu must sell all of their inventory within three days, Jola Szubielski, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, told in an email.
“Those who have had a positive detect or sick birds were not permitted to sell down inventory and have since had the flocks depopulated,” Szubielski said, adding that none of the poultry from the affected markets will be allowed to enter the food supply.
The nationwide outbreak of bird flu began in January 2022, and the virus has spread to dairy cattle.
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The number of bird flu cases among commercial and wild flocks is on the rise, with more than 130 confirmed in the past month, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Of those, the majority of cases were in commercial flocks.
There have been 67 human bird flu cases and one death from the virus in the US since April 2024, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In nearly all of the human cases, the patients had been exposed to infected animals. According to the CDC, the current risk to the general public from bird flu is low, but people who keep chickens and other birds in their backyards need to be cautious, as do workers on dairy and poultry farms, health officials said.
McDonald also urged people to get their seasonal flu shots, emphasizing that although they won’t protect from bird flu, “it may help us reduce the chance of someone getting infected with seasonal flu and avian flu at the same time. You don’t want the viruses together, because if they merge, that could create a resistant strain.”
