Live poultry markets in New York City raced to sell off all their chickens and other fowl Friday after seven cases of avian flu were detected and state officials ordered markets in the metropolitan area to close for a week.

Authorities in New York state have temporarily closed all live poultry markets in New York City and three suburban counties after bird flu was detected at seven markets within the past week, according to a notice on as authorities nationwide track the current bird flu outbreak,