# 8178
As Lisa Schnirring noted last night in her CIDRAP News report New cases put H7N9 pace near last year's peak, the daily pace of newly reported cases over the past week is running close to what we experienced last April during the height of the spring outbreak, before serious control measures (ie. closing of live markets) was undertaken by the affected provinces.
While this uptick in cases is obviously a concern, thus far we haven’t seen any epidemiological evidence to suggest the virus is transmitting between humans in an efficient or sustained manner.
This morning, the World Health Organization has posted an update on cases they received notification about on January 15tth, by the Chinese Ministry of Health.
Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update
Disease outbreak news
17 January 2014 - On 15 January 2014, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China notified WHO of four additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.
Details of the cases are as follows:
- A 35 year old man from Shanghai who became ill on 1 January and was admitted to hospital on 12 January. He is currently in a critical condition. The patient has a history of exposure to poultry.
- A 41 year old man from Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, who became ill on 5 January and was admitted to hospital on 9 January and then transferred to another hospital on 12 January. He is currently in a critical condition.
- A 48 year old man from Foshan City, Guandong Province, who became ill on 2 January and was admitted to hospital on 12 January. He is currently in a critical condition.
- A 55 year old man from Dongguan City, Guandong Province, who became ill on 1 January and was admitted to hospital on 9 January. He is currently in a critical condition. The patient has a history of exposure to poultry.
The source of infection is still under investigation. So far, there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission.
The Chinese government continues to take the following measures:
- strengthen surveillance and situation analysis;
- reinforce case management and treatment;
- conduct risk communication with the public and release information;
- strengthen international collaboration and communication; and
- conduct scientific studies.
WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event, nor does it currently recommend any travel or trade restrictions.
