On March 13, China confirmed one H5N1 influenza infection in Sichuan Province. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) decided to raise the travel notice level for Sichuan Province, China to Level 2: Alert for avian influenza and urges travelers visiting China to heighten their vigilance for avian influenza and practice good personal hygiene and avoid contact with poultry and birds and consume only thoroughly cooked poultry and eggs in order to ward off infection. If respiratory symptoms develop after returning to Taiwan, please put on a mask, seek immediate medical attention and inform the physician of the relevant travel and exposure history to facilitate diagnosis and treatment.

The case is a 46-year-old male who resides in Suining City and worked in the poultry slaughtering business. Prior to his disease onset, he had been exposed to sick and dead poultry. On February 18, he developed illness. On February 25, he was hospitalized. On February 27, he died. On March 12, H5N1 infection was confirmed in the case by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC). None of his 55 contacts has developed suspected symptoms.

Thus far this year, a cumulative total of two H5N1 influenza infections have been confirmed in China, including one in Jiangsu Province and one in Sichuan Province. Both cases were exposed to poultry prior to disease onset. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a cumulative total of 89 H5N1 influenza infections, including 26 deaths, have been confirmed worldwide in 2015. In addition, a cumulative total of 784 H7N9 influenza infections, including 429 deaths, have been confirmed since March 31, 2013. Currently, Taiwan CDC has issued a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for avian influenza to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Shanghai City, Jiangxi Province, Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, Anhui Province, Shandong Province, Hunan Province, and Sichuan Province, and a travel notice of Level 1: Watch for avian influenza to the other provinces and cities in China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau.

Taiwan CDC once again urges travelers visiting China to practice good personal hygiene such as washing hands with soap frequently and putting on a mask when coughing and take preventive measures such as avoiding direct contact with poultry and birds or their droppings/dead bodies, and consuming only thoroughly cooked poultry and eggs. If influenza-like illness symptoms develop upon arriving in Taiwan, please voluntarily notify the airline crew and the quarantine officer at the quarantine station in the airport. If symptoms such as fever and cough develop after returning to Taiwan, please put on a surgical mask and seek immediate medical attention.  Moreover, please inform the physician of the recent travel and exposure history to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).