The Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission reported on 14 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9), including two deaths.
The eleven male and three female patients, aged from 39 to 81, had onset from March 27 to April 11, including three from Sichuan, two each from Henan, Shandong and Xizang, and one each from Anhui, Beijing, Hunan, Tianjin and Zhejiang. Among them, 13 had exposure to poultry, poultry markets or mobile stalls.
China has now reported some 612 cases and at least 179 deaths in its fifth and largest H7N9 wave.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health in Hong Kong offers the following advice while handling poultry:
- Avoid touching poultry, birds, animals or their droppings;
- When buying live chickens, do not touch them and their droppings. Do not blow at their bottoms. Wash eggs with detergent if soiled with faecal matter and cook and consume them immediately. Always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling chickens and eggs;
- Eggs should be cooked well until the white and yolk become firm. Do not eat raw eggs or dip cooked food into any sauce with raw eggs. Poultry should be cooked thoroughly. If there is pinkish juice running from the cooked poultry or the middle part of its bone is still red, the poultry should be cooked again until fully done;
- Wash hands frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes, before handling food or eating, and after going to the toilet, touching public installations or equipment such as escalator handrails, elevator control panels or door knobs, or when hands are dirtied by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing; and
- Wear a mask if fever or respiratory symptoms develop, when going to a hospital or clinic, or while taking care of patients with fever or respiratory symptoms.
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