Beijing, Apr 15 (IANS): China's poultry industry is feeling the pain from climbing H7N9 fears, with industry losses amounting to 10 billion yuan ($1.62 billion) in just one week, People's Daily said Monday.

This is only direct losses, and the real impact of the disease will be far more than that, Ma Chuang at the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine was quoted as saying.

Many consumers have been reluctant to eat poultry since the H7N9 avian influenza outbreak started in late March.

Some restaurants have stopped offering poultry dishes - leading to a major decline in both poultry prices and consumption.

China's authorities have been taking precautions to halt the spread of the deadly disease.

The widespread fears as well as the government's bans on poultry trading have cast a shadow over the whole industrial chain of the poultry industry.

As of Sunday evening, the H7N9 influenza has affected 60 patients while 13 of them have died.