Disease outbreak news
11 March 2015

On 9 March 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 59 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 17 fatal cases. Onset dates ranged from 21 January to 25 February 2015. Below is a breakdown of the 59 cases included in this notification by epidemiological week of symptom onset:

• Week 4 (19 – 25 January) 5 cases
• Week 5 (26 January – 1 February) 13 cases
• Week 6 (2 – 8 February) 9 cases
• Week 7 (9 – 15 February) 15 cases
• Week 8 (16 – 22 February) 14 cases
• Week 9 (24 – 25 February) 3 cases

Of these 59 cases, 44 (75%) were male. The majority (49 cases, 83%) reported exposure to live poultry or live poultry markets; the exposure history of six cases is unknown or unavailable. Three family clusters were reported, each comprised of two cases; four of the six cases had exposure to live poultry or live poultry markets, one case had no exposure to poultry, and one case is still under investigation. Cases were reported from nine provinces: Anhui (4), Fujian (1), Guangdong (35), Guizhou (1), Hunan (2), Jiangsu (3), Jiangxi (1), Shanghai (1), and Zhejiang (11).