On 11, 14, and 21 July 2017, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China (NHFPC) notified WHO of three individual laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China.

Details of the case patients

On 11 July 2017, the NHFPC reported one laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China. The case-patient was a 35-year-old male, who developed symptoms on 23 June 2017, and died on 30 June. This was the first reported case from Xinjiang since April 2015. He was a butcher and seller at a live poultry market.

On 14 July 2017, the NHFPC reported one laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China. The case-patient was a 54-year-old male from Yunnan province. He developed symptoms on 23 June 2017 and was admitted to hospital with severe pneumonia on 28 June. He was reported to have had exposure to a live poultry market.

On 21 July 2017, the NHFPC reported one laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China. The case-patient was a 62-year-old female from Jiangsu province. She developed symptoms on 12 July 2017 and was admitted to hospital with severe pneumonia on 13 July. She was reported to have had exposure to a live poultry market.

The Chinese government has assessed that it is still likely that sporadic cases will occur in China taking into consideration the previous epidemic situation and risk assessment.

To date, a total of 1557 laboratory-confirmed human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported in China through IHR notification since early 2013.