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While much of China's H7N9 activity has shifted north to Shaanxi, Beijing, and Inner Mongolia, we continue to see scattered cases in the south - and on Friday the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's HFPC reported a human infection in Baise City, roughly 60 miles from the Vietnamese border.
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Health and Family Planning Commission of H7N9 outbreaks communications
Date: 2017-06-02 17:09:37
Source: Autonomous Health and Family Planning Commission
May 26, 2017 - at 4:01 on June 2, Guangxi new one case of H7N9 cases reported cases for the Baise City. Since 2017, Guangxi H7N9 cases were reported in 26 cases, 13 cases were cured and discharged, 13 died.
During the first four yearly epidemics of H7N9, Guangxi reported a total of only 3 human infections. During this 5th epidemic wave, which began last October, Guangxi has now reported 27 cases.
Given their porous border, and (often illicit) cross border poultry trade with China, Vietnam has watched this increased H7N9 activity in neighboring Guangxi with growing alarm (see Vietnam Girds Against H7N9 and Vietnam Girds Against H7N9 As H5N1 Spreads.
This latest case in Guangxi has stirred a good deal of activity in the Vietnamese press (see China discovered H7N9 virus infections bordering Vietnam), and late last week Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture (MARD) warned:
Wary of flu A / H7N9 in poultry and people
(Mard-1/6/2017): According to information from the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health), the recent epidemic of influenza A in humans tend to an expansion in some southern provinces, Southeast of China Nations, including Yunnan and Guangxi bordering Vietnam has also recorded cases. Experts recommend that the risk of flu A / H7N9 in Vietnam penetrate in this period is very high if there is no strict control measures at the grassroots level.
On the other hand, strains of Influenza A / H7N9 was always dangerous in that coincide only in poultry but does not kill chickens so very difficult to detect. Meanwhile, if the ingestion of live poultry and poultry exposed to disease-carrying infected hybrid influenza virus A / H7N9 and fatal for people. Moreover, so far there is no vaccine for this flu strain in poultry and humans.
While H7N9 remains confined to China (with a handful of exported cases), this year's geographic expansion west (to Tibet), north (to Inner Mongolia), and south to very near the border with Vietnam suggests this virus is unlikely to remain just a Chinese problem forever.
For more on how China's neighbors are preparing for H7N9's arrival, you may wish to revisit:
CHINA: HPAI H7N9 Expands Its Range
China's Nervous Neighbors
FAO: Reinforcing Control Efforts Against H7N9 In China
