Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Shaanxi Province: Yulin City Reports Imported H7N9 Case ex Inner Mongolia













#12,500


As H7N9 reports dry up in China's southern provinces, we continue to see scattered infections from the central and northern regions, with the latest coming today from Yulin City, which was the site of a major poultry die off last week (see Shaanxi Province Reports Large Poultry Die Off - H7N9 Suspected).
What makes this doubly interesting is this case apparently became infected last week while living in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, about 90 miles north of Yulin.
Inner Mongolia only recently reported their first outbreaks in poultry, and has never reported a human H7N9 infection. Ordos (aka Erdos) was not mentioned as a site of poultry infection in that report. 
According to the Yulin Health Departmentreport, the patient traveled to Yulin to seek medical help, and her husband (apparently still at home) was suffering from similar symptoms.

 A h/t to Tetano on FluTrackers, whose posting of a media report sent me in search of the official government statement.

The first case of imported human infection H7N9 cases

Index: 011931 Subject Classification: Municipal News Source: Yulin City, the Ministry of Public Security Bureau Published: 2017-05-31 Views: 1605

       May 31, 2017, the provincial CDC testing review, the city of Chinese medicine hospital admitted to Yang Moumou, was diagnosed with human infection H7N9 cases, for the infection later the city was diagnosed, the first city of imported human infection H7N9 cases.
The patient is in Inner Mongolia Wushenqi Tuke town farmers, female, 67 years old, before the onset of contact with dead birds history, then the patient and her husband have fever, cough and other symptoms, in the local village health room after treatment ineffective , At 9:00 pm on May 29 came to the city of Yuyang District Star Hospital, 22:30 or so suspected H7N9 cases into the city hospital hospital treatment of the southern suburbs.

       May 29, the hospital for patients to collect specimens sent to the city CDC detection, May 30 at noon City CDC reported that the patient's biological specimens H7N9 nucleic acid test results were positive. May 31 morning, the provincial CDC review report, confirmed that the patient H7N9 virus nucleic acid positive.

       Provincial medical treatment expert group has developed a treatment program, the patient actively isolation treatment, close contact with their observation and treatment. At the same time, the Municipal Health Bureau has informed the city of Erdos, Inner Mongolia, the local patients have had close contact with the patient to isolate medical observation.
       At present, the city has started H7N9 epidemic prevention and control contingency plan Ⅲ level response, all levels of government and relevant departments to strengthen joint defense control work, the prevention and control work is in an orderly manner.

       Experts suggest that people infected with H7N9 can prevent and control, the broad masses of people do not panic, do personal protection, to avoid contact with dead birds, try to avoid direct contact with live birds, birds or their feces; influenza epidemic period, less to the poultry market , Such as the emergence of high fever, cough, dyspnea and other symptoms, especially after exposure to birds after the above symptoms, such as the emergence of poultry, poultry eggs, eggs must be cooked cooked after cooking, Should seek medical attention as soon as possible, and take the initiative to inform the history of contact.null


Between this report, and the news that 20,000 birds died late last week at a Yulin poultry farm, local media is waxing hyperbolic overnight about H7N9. 
Up until the past couple of months, H7N9 was pretty much a threat to southern and central provinces of China.  But this spring H7N9 - in addition to adding an HPAI strain - has been moving inexorably north. 

Beijing, which in the first four epidemic waves only saw 9 cases, has added 20 over the past three months.  Shaanxi province, which had never seen a case before this year, now reports 6.

Now it appears we can add Inner Mongolia to the list.