On June 14, 2016, officials from the China Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed this year’s first two cases of H7N9 influenza infection in Tianjin City, China. Due to the potential risk of H7N9 transmission in Tianjin City, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) thus raised the travel notice level for the city to Level 2: Alert for avian influenza on June 15, 2016. 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 two cases respectively reside in Langfang City, Hebei Province and Binhai New Area, Tianjin City. Both of them are hospitalized due to severe pneumonia and had been exposed to sick poultry. The case from Hebei Province was transferred to a hospital in Tianjin City for medical treatment. According to the epidemiological investigation, the two cases are not epidemiologically linked. The local government determined the two cases are sporadic cases. Currently, none of the contacts of those two cases has developed any suspected symptoms. Since October 1, 2015, a cumulative total of 109 H7N9 influenza infections have been confirmed in China. 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. The majority of them are aged over 50 and had a history of live poultry exposure.

Since March 31, 2013, a cumulative total of 786 H7N9 influenza infections, including 306 deaths announced by WHO on May 23, 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, Hebei Province, Beijing City and Tianjin City, 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).