Guangzhou officials have advised residents to avoid contact with live poultry after one-third of poultry markets in the city were found to be contaminated with H7N9 bird flu. Live poultry markets are a major source of human infection. Guangzhou announced last month that it would halt live poultry trading in all markets three days a month in the first quarter of the year. The city has had 35 people diagnosed with the virus in the past three years, more than half of whom died. The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned last month that the peak season for bird flu would occur one month earlier this year, and it expected to see a larger number of cases and a wider region of infection than in previous years. The Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health in Hong Kong received notification from its mainland counterpart that 45 new human cases of H7N9 bird flu had been recorded from January 30 to February 5, with four of those in Guangdong province. More than 130 cases of bird flu were reported in China in January, resulting in 24 deaths. No human-to-human transmissions have been confirmed, the South China Morning Post reports. Meanwhile, Beijing authorities have also reported the city’s first human case of H7N9 bird flu infection. A 68-year-old man is in critical condition after seeking medical attention on January 29.