JUST two weeks ago, Xu Jing's mother-in-law bought a live black-bone chicken from a local market, believing that soup made from an extremely fresh bird was most beneficial for women. Like Xu's family, many local residents are in the habit of buying live poultry, because they are thought of being especially nutritious. But live poultry has not been available in the city since the beginning of this month. The trouble maker is the bird flu.

The purchase of live poultry is now forbidden in all wholesale and retail markets in Shanghai, according to an order released by the city government on February 1. Under the new rules, only designated plants are allowed to process poultry, which cannot be sold without a quarantine certificate.

The order, including seven articles, covers the regulation of compulsory immunization, the importation of poultry from other provinces, supervision, reporting, government responsibilities and the release of information.

Nanhui shock

The outbreak of suspected bird flu in eastern Shanghai's Nanhui District has suddenly thrown a spanner into the machinery of urban life. In the Xiao Shao Xing Restaurant on Yunnan Lu, which is famous for its Shanghai-style steamed chicken, the number of diners has dropped markedly. Chen Zhiqing, the deputy general manager of the restaurant said on February 2 that sales of chicken had fallen to only half their previous level. Before the bad news, the restaurant was selling 500-600 chickens every day. Shanghai is well-known for its steamed chicken, which is a favourite dish among locals.

"I read in the newspaper that experts advise against eating such steamed chicken because it is not thoroughly cooked. I will ask my family members to follow this suggestion carefully," said He Rongrong, a housewife.

In the Zhending Chicken Restaurant on Songshan Lu, at lunch time on February 2, there were few diners to be seen, despite its location near Shanghai's busiest business area. It would usually be packed with white-collar workers from nearby office buildings.

A waiter in the eatery said - somewhat unconvincingly - that business was still "not too bad". But a manager of Zhending Chicken said in a telephone interview that they had started to see business decline from the moment Shanghai announced its first suspected bird flu case.

Sales suspended

Shanghai Sanguantang Market, the city's largest poultry and egg wholesale market, has seen the biggest change. It closed its doors from last Monday, with a government notice pasted on them saying it was "stopping all retail or wholesale business in live poultry in Shanghai's markets."

"We have been told to keep the market closed until there is another notice from the government," said an administrative officer from Sanguantang Market.

"The ban may not be lifted any time soon," said the middle-aged officer, who asked to remain unnamed. "It all depends on the situation (of the bird flu spread)."

Several administrative staff, wearing masks, were at work cleaning and sterilizing the empty market, which, according to the staff, usually imported more than 100,000 chicks from outside Shanghai each day, with a daily turnover amounting to 1 million yuan (US$120,000) on average, accounting for approximately half of the city's market share.

The government also urged local medical authorities to beef up their monitoring system for the bird flu virus. People who have had close contact with poultry and show some flu symptoms should immediately seek medical treatment at local hospitals.

Various communities and social organizations are also revving up their efforts to prevent an epidemic. All the doves in the city's downtown People's Square were quarantined on Monday, with their coops being sterilized, according to local reports. The doves were also called back to their cages from February 3. During the danger period, people can't enjoy flying doves in the People's Square. Shanghai Zoo has taken chickens off the menu for many of its large animals, such as tigers and lions, offering beef and mutton instead.

Dongtan wetlands on Shanghai's Chongming Island, a resting place for birds migrating between Russia's Siberia and Australia, was also closed to tourists from Monday, with special staff on guard day and night.