New York officials are taking precautions against the avian flu after seven cases were detected at live bird markets in New York City.
The markets were ordered on Friday to shut down for about one week to combat the illness, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Friday.
“The order came after seven cases of bird flu were found in poultry during routine inspections of live bird markets in the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens,” the outlet said, noting that officials said there have been no cases of the avian flu among New Yorkers.
In an announcement on Friday, state officials explained:
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that, as part of New York State’s continued effort to combat the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) has issued a new Notice and Order for live bird markets that have not had a detection of HPAI in New York City and Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau counties. The order requires those markets to sell down all inventory, complete cleaning and disinfection procedures, and remain closed for a period of five days after cleaning and disinfection. In addition, the Notice and Order further outlines quarantine and depopulation procedures for markets that have confirmed detections of HPAI.
This Notice and Order follows seven detections of HPAI in markets in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn during routine surveillance conducted by AGM since January 31, 2025. The State reminds farmers to follow good biosecurity measures and emphasizes that the risk to humans remains low.
The news comes as egg prices have soared in part due to the bird flu outbreak, Breitbart News reported on January 3.
One California baker said she needs lots of eggs to run her business, adding, “I didn’t raise my prices. I did not anticipate that this would change. So now I’m going to be at a loss because they’re expensive.”
A family-owned deli in Queens is also feeling the sting when it comes to the high cost of eggs because its popular menu items require the staple food, according to ABC 7:
As the H5N1 strain of bird flu affects wild birds, poultry, cows, and other animals in areas across the nation, another variant of bird flu has infected dairy cows in Nevada, per Breitbart News.
