The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (December 9) received notification of an additional human case of avian influenza A(H7N9) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and again urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.
 
     The male patient aged 81 from Meizhou is the first human case of H7N9 reported in Guangdong in this winter.
 
     "Based on the seasonal pattern of avian influenza viruses, their activity in the Mainland is expected to increase in winter. The public should avoid contact with poultry, birds and their droppings and should not visit live poultry markets and farms to prevent avian influenza, particularly during travel in the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays," a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     From 2013 to date, 778 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been reported by the Mainland health authorities.