Interventions in live poultry markets for the control of avian influenza: A systematic review

Offeddu, Vittoria; Cowling, Benjamin J.; Peiris, J.S. Malik

Despite the immediate risk reduction of AIV-isolation following LPM closure and depopulation, a long-term benefit was not always apparent. For instance, AIV-transmission within bird populations in Chinese markets was not particularly sensitive to regular LPM-depopulation in the long-run [26] . Accordingly, even though the monthly rest day in Hong Kong had an immediate impact on H9N2-circulation [19] , it did not significantly reduce average isolation rates over longer time periods [20, 21] . Over the years, the live quail sale ban induced a comparatively much more dramatic risk reduction of AIV-isolation compared to one or even two monthly rest days, although the ban of keeping poultry overnight led to the most sustained impact [21] . The impact of the ban on the sale of live quails was context-dependent, as it was introduced based on previous research demonstrating that quails were the species with the highest virus shedding rates within Hong Kong LPMs at the time of the investigations.