Bird flu update: Five more human H7N9 avian influenza cases reported from China, HK bans poultry import from South Korea due to H5N8 bird flu outbreak
The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) received notification yesterday (January 29) of five additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Guangzhou (one case) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and in Zhejiang (three cases) and Fujian (one case) from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
The case in Guangzhou involves a boy aged 17 and he is currently hospitalized for treatment.
The three cases in Zhejiang involve three men aged 37, 60 and 63 who are all under treatment in hospital.
The case in Fujian involves a boy aged 2. He is now hospitalized for treatment.
As of yesterday, a total of 259 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (107 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (35 cases), Guangdong (36 cases), Fujian (16 cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Henan (four cases), Beijing (three cases), Hunan (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Hebei (one case) and Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang).
In other bird flu news, the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today that it will ban the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from two areas of South Korea–South Chung Cheong Do and South Jeolla Do–because of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza outbreak in chickens, geese and ducks.
“We will be in close liaison with the Korean authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on the avian influenza outbreaks in the country. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” a CFS spokesman said.
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[…] As of Jan. 29, there has been 259 human avian influenza H7N9 cases reported on Mainland China, according to the Hong Kong CHP. […]