NYC just shut down all its live bird markets for a week after it discovered seven cases of avian flu

Chickens wait in a cage at the Chicken Market, a live chicken dealer and slaughter house, December 8, 2004 in New York City. Recent outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Asian nations have forced the slaughter of millions of chickens, ducks, and other birds.

Spencer Platt—Getty Images