On October 18, 2014, officials from the China Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed one new H7N9 influenza infection in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Beijing City, respectively. The case confirmed in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was a 44-year-old female who had been exposed to live poultry in the market. She developed symptoms on September 4 and died on September 9. The case confirmed in Beijing City is a 7-year-old female student who developed mild symptoms on September 16. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) has thus raised the travel notice level for these two areas to Level 2: Alert for avian influenza. Travelers visiting China are urged to practice good personal hygiene and avoid contact with poultry and birds. In addition, physicians are advised to pay additional attention to patients with pneumonia and inquire about such patients’ travel history.

Since October 1, 2013, a cumulative total of 320 H7N9 influenza infections have been confirmed worldwide, including 306 cases in China, 10 cases in Hong Kong, 3 cases in Taiwan, and 1 case in Malaysia. Since March 31, 2013, a cumulative total of 455 H7N9 influenza infections, including 175 deaths, announced by WHO on September 3, 2014 have been confirmed around the world.

Taiwan CDC urges travelers visiting China to practice good personal hygiene such as washing hands frequently and putting on a mask when coughing, 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 the above-mentioned 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 history to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922, or 0800-001922 if calling from a cell phone.