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

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

It is important to note that the long-term effectiveness of such interventions is highly dependent of AIV-prevalence among incoming poultry. The studies in Hong Kong were of necessity carried out with subtype H9N2, which is more endemic in incoming poultry than, for example, the more clinically relevant H5N1. When virus prevalence is very high in incoming birds, viral amplification within the LPM would be a less significant factor in determining overall zoonotic exposure. In this case, even the ban on holding live poultry overnight might fail to substantially reduce human exposure (Fig. 2) . In the case of AIV strains that have lower prevalence within incoming poultry, it is possible that even the monthly or bimonthly rest days would significantly reduce overall exposure of humans to the zoonotic viruses (Fig. 2) .