On 14 October 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 2 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H7N9) virus.

Details of the cases

The cases are a 55-year-old female and a 53-year-old male, with onset dates of 18 September and 21 September, respectively. Both cases had exposure to poultry and live poultry markets. No epidemiological link between the cases was reported. The cases were reported from 2 municipalities (Huzhou city and Jinhua city) in Zhejiang province.

Public health response

The Chinese Government has taken the following surveillance and control measures:

• strengthen outbreak surveillance and situation analysis;
• reinforce all efforts on medical treatment; and
• conduct risk communication with the public and dissemination of information.

WHO is assessing the epidemiological situation and conducting further risk assessment based on the latest information. Based on the information received thus far, the overall public health risk from avian influenza A(H7N9) viruses has not changed.

As of June 2015, FAO reported continued AI A(H7N9) virus detections in the animal population in multiple provinces in China, indicating that the virus persists in the poultry population. If the pattern of human cases follows the trends seen in previous years, the human case number may rise over the coming months. Further sporadic cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus are expected in affected and possibly neighboring areas. Should human cases from affected areas travel internationally, their infection may be detected in another country during or after arrival. If this were to occur, community level spread is considered unlikely as the virus has not demonstrated the ability to transmit easily among humans.