As the ongoing H7N9 outbreak in China escalates and the winter break and the Chinese New Year Holiday are fast approaching, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) reminds 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.

In light of a significant increase in the number of H7N9 cases (29), which were confirmed in mostly Fujian Province and Guangdong Province, China, last week, 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, and Jiangxi 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.

Since October 1, 2014, a cumulative total of 67 H7N9 influenza infections have been confirmed in China, including 21 in Fujian Province, 15 in Guangdong Province, 10 in Zhejiang Province, 8 in Jiangsu Province, 7 in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 2 in Shanghai City, 1 in Beijing City, 1 in Jiangxi Province, 1 in Shandong Province (imported from Jiangsu Province), and 1 in Hong Kong (imported from Guangdong Province). Since March 31, 2013, a cumulative total of 520 H7N9 influenza infections, including 185 deaths, announced by WHO on January 17, 2015 have been confirmed in China (504), Hong Kong (11), Taiwan (4), and Malaysia (1).

Taiwan CDC once again urges travelers visiting China to practice good personal hygiene such as washing hands 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).