#12,290
Hong Kong's CHP has published their latest weekly avian influenza report, which includes an increase of 23 H7N9 cases from the Mainland over last week's tally. While still a substantial weekly number, this represents another decrease over what we've seen reported in recent weeks.
All but two of these cases in today's reports were announced last Friday (see HK CHP Notified Of 21 Additional H7N9 Cases On The Mainland), albeit with far fewer details.
Hong Kong now reports 477 Mainland cases since the start of this 5th wave (plus 4 in Hong Kong, 2 in Macao & 1 in Taiwan), more than quadrupling last year's 12 month tally. We continue to see a steady trickle of cases reported by local provinces and Chinese media, numbers ikely subdued by recent closures of many live poultry markets.
As a general rule, only the `sickest of the sick' - those ill enough to be hospitalized - are tested for the virus How many cases are flying beneath China's surveillance radar is a big unknown. The official count, however, is assumed to be a fraction of the actual burden of the disease (see Beneath The H7N9 Pyramid).
The full report (which runs 10 pages) is well worth downloading and reading, as it contains updates not only on avian flu activity in Mainland China, but around the world. While it doesn't not show it, we are aware of at least 2 H5N1 cases (1 fatal) in Egypt this year.
Avian Influenza Report
Avian Influenza Report is a weekly report produced by the Respiratory Disease Office, Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health. This report highlights global avian influenza activity in humans and birds.
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 09
Reporting period: February 26, 2017 – March 4, 2017 (Week 09)
(Published on March 7, 2017)
Summary
1. Since the previous issue of Avian Influenza Report (AIR), there were 23 new human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) reported by Mainland China health authorities in Guangdong (6 cases), Anhui (4 cases), Guangxi (4 cases), Jiangsu (3 cases), Jiangxi (2 cases), Hubei (1 case), Hunan (1 case), Shanghai (1 case) and Zhejiang (1 case). Since March 2013 (as of March 6, 2017), there were a total of 1282 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) reported globally. Since October 2016 (as of March 6, 2017), 477 cases have been recorded in Mainland China.
2. Since the previous issue of AIR, there were no new human cases of avian influenza A(H5N6). Since 2014 (as of March 4, 2017), 16 human cases of avian influenza A(H5N6) were reported globally and all occurred in Mainland China. The latest case was reported on December 1, 2016.
3. There were no new human cases of avian influenza A(H5N1) reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017. From 2011 to 2015, 32 to 145 confirmed human cases of avian influenza A(H5N1) were reported to WHO annually (according to onset date). In 2016, there have been 10 cases in Egypt.*
