At the time of writing, officials from the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) have confirmed a total of 125 cases of human infections with the avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 23 deaths, have occurred in Shanghai (33, including 12 deaths), Jiangsu Province(27, including 4 deaths), Zhejiang Province (46, including 6 deaths), Anhui Province (4, including 1 death), Beijing (1), Henan Province (4), Shandong Province (2), Jiangxi Province (5), Fujian Province (2), and Hunan Province (1).

Between 8am on April 28 and 8am on April 29, 2013, Taiwan CDC received reports of 13 suspected cases. Of the cases, 1 was reported by the quarantine office at Kaohsiung International Airport and 12 were reported by the healthcare provider.  As of now, the test results for 3 cases are still pending and the possibility of H7N9 infection in the remaining classes has been ruled out (1 was tested positive for H1N1, 1 was tested positive for H3N2, and the rest were negative for influenza viruses).

To prevent the transmission of H7N9 influenza, the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, the Coast Guard Administration, Executive Yuan, and the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ), Council of Agriculture have all reinforced customs inspection and crackdown on poultry smuggling. The Customs Administration has strengthened the customs inspection mechanism, including the verification of customs declarations and examination of goods. For goods that are exempt from customs declaration, the authority will reinforce examination and inspection of goods coming from areas affected by avian influenza. If the smuggling of live poultry and poultry product from areas affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza is caught, the authority will report the case to BAPHIQ, Council of Agriculture and the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) for implementation of infection prevention measures. The Coast Guard has also strengthened security inspection and crackdown on poultry smuggling, especially those coming from areas affected by avian influenza. On April 8, the Coast Guard clamped down on the smuggling of 109 poultry/birds. On the other hand, BAPHIQ has also reinforced the implementation of animal health inspection and quarantine measures. As of April 28, BAPHIQ has clamped down on a total of 119 smuggled poultry/birds thus far this year. According to the laboratory testing on the smuggled poultry/birds conducted by the Animal Health Research Institute (AHRI), Council of Agriculture, all 119 poultry/birds were tested negative for avian influenza viruses. In addition, on April 25, the authority caught the smuggling of 9,270 kg of chicken feet in the sea surrounding Matsu and Lienchiang County Government has culled the smuggled chicken feet.

CECC once again urges travelers visiting areas affected by H7N9 influenza in China to practice good personal hygiene such as washing hands frequently and putting on a mask, take preventive measures such as avoiding direct contact with poultry and birds or their droppings, avoiding visiting traditional markets with live poultry, consuming only thoroughly cooked poultry and eggs.  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 history to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. For more information, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-001922 if calling from a cell phone, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw.