It has now been confirmed that the source of the new strain of bird flu, which has afflicted 20 people and killed six, is live poultry. But this is just the beginning of the fight against H7N9 that was first detected at the end of last month.

The swift response of the Shanghai and other local governments to the outbreak has played a major role in preventing an epidemic. They took immediate action after the source of the virus was found, banning the trade in live poultry, culling birds and sterilizing markets. And the timely release of news about new H7N9 cases has prevented people from panicking.

Although all the cases have been reported from provinces and cities in East China, disease control and prevention centers in other parts of the country also need to be on high alert. The need to regularly sterilize all live poultry markets in the country cannot be overstated, especially because this is the season when birds migrate from the south to the north.