On May 23, 2016, officials from the China Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed this year’s first H7N9 influenza infection in Hebei Province, China. Due to the potential risk of H7N9 transmission in Hebei Province, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) thus raised the travel notice level for the province to Level 2: Alert for avian influenza on the same day. Travelers planning to visit affected areas in China are urged to heighten their vigilance for avian influenza, practice good personal hygiene, avoid contact with poultry and birds and visiting live poultry markets, and consume only thoroughly cooked poultry and eggs in order to ward off infection.

The case is a 57-year-old male peasant who resides in Hengshui City, Hebei Province, China. On May 10, he developed symptoms such as headache and fever. On May 16, he was hospitalized. Currently, he is in critical conditions. None of the 39 close contacts has developed any suspected symptoms. One case of H7N9 infection was previously reported in Hebei Province on July 20, 2013.

Since October 1, 2015, a cumulative total of 104 H7N9 influenza infections have been confirmed in China. The majority of them are aged over 50 and had a history of live poultry exposure. The number of cases reported this influenza season is significantly less than those reported during the previous 3 seasons. The currently available evidence suggests there has only been limited person-to-person spread of the H7N9 virus. Since March 31, 2013, a cumulative total of 781 H7N9 influenza infections, including 295 deaths announced by WHO on April 13, 2016, have been confirmed in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, and Malaysia. Currently, Taiwan CDC has issued a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for avian influenza to Zhejiang Province, Guangdong Province, Anhui Province, Hunan Province, Shanghai City, Jiangxi Province, Jiangsu Province, Sichuan Province, Fujian Province, Shandong Province, Hubei Province and Hebei 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 advises travelers visiting China to practice good personal hygiene such as washing hands with soap and water 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 to ward off avian influenza infection. 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 aforementioned 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).