The Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission reported today on two additional human infections of avian influenza A(H7N9).

H7N9 avian influenza Image/CDC
H7N9 avian influenza
Image/CDC

The patients include a woman aged 54 in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and a woman aged 45 in Jiangsu. The 54-year-old woman passed away early this month.

According to the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP), To date, 443 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed on the Mainland in Zhejiang (139 cases), Guangdong (109 cases), Jiangsu (58 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Hunan (24 cases), Fujian (22 cases), Anhui (17 cases), Jiangxi (eight cases), Beijing (five cases), Shandong (five cases), Henan (four cases), Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Jilin (two cases), Guizhou (one case) and Hebei (one case).

In addition, Malaysia has reported one imported cases, while Taiwan has seen four imported H7N9 avian flu cases.

The situation in China has become more complicated in recent months…

As Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary reports, “During its first two waves, China’s H7N9 outbreak had been restricted to the Eastern half of their country, with the bulk of cases occurring along the Eastern seaboard.  In August of this year things changed when we saw the virus reported twice in Xinjiang, China’s westernmost province/autonomous region.”

“The jump to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region not only moves the viral chess pieces across the full 5000 km breadth of China, it places countries that border Xinjiang (Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) on notice as well.”

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