Central Epidemic Command Center Holds the 3rd Meeting on H7N9, Expecting to Prevent the Disease from Entering Taiwan by Having All Agencies Work in Concert and Closely Together 

In response to the H7N9 outbreak in the mainland China, the Executive Yuan established the Central Epidemic Command Center on April 3. The Center held the third meeting today, to build close and concerted cooperation among various agencies to stop the disease from entering Taiwan, and to work on the preventive preparation tasks.

According to the OIE’s animal health information, only the mainland China reported animal infections with H7N9 from last week until April 7; no other country reported animal infection cases. In the mainland China, 36 specimens collected from wholesale markets in Shanghai were tested and showed positive result for influenza A (H7N9) virus from April 4 to 5. Among them, 5 specimens were from pigeons, 19 chicken and 12 environmental specimens. As for the domestic surveillance on animal infection, the Council of Agriculture has stepped up surveillance over domestic poultry farms and guidance on sterilization for disease prevention. By April 7, a total of 177 chicken farms, 78 duck farms, 27 goose farms, 272 pet birds, 20 pig farms and 2,213 migratory birds’ excrements had been inspected this year, and no influenza A (H7N9) antibody or virus had been detected. 

With regard to quarantine inspection on animals and animal products, the Coast Guard Administration, Executive Yuan and Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance have strengthened border investigation against smuggling and inspection of passengers’ baggage. At the night of April 8, 109 smuggled birds (81 Alexandrine Parakeets and 28 racing pigeons) from Fuzhou of the mainland China were seized and destroyed after specimens were taken as regulated. 

The Command Center revealed that “other disasters” listed in the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act includes biological disasters. The amended draft of the Act even explicitly makes biological disasters one of the disaster categories, stipulating the Department of Health to take charge in case of such disasters; the command system is the same as that set forth in the Communicable Disease Prevention Act. The newly established Central Epidemic Command Center for H7N9 is located in the National Health Command Center (NHCC) under the Center for Disease Control (CDC), because all software and hardware facilities, as well as the relevant data, are comprehensively established at the Center. Other operations adopt the same structural make-up as the national disaster prevention system administered by the Central Disaster Prevention and Response Committee. 

Currently, H7N9 affected areas in the mainland China include Shanghai City, Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province. After confirming with the health authority of the mainland China, cumulative incidence in the mainland China totaled 24 now (with 7 deaths), including 11 people in Shanghai, 2 in Anhui, 8 in Jiangsu, and 3 in Zhejiang. In Taiwan, a total of 10 suspected cases were reported from noon yesterday to noon today; 9 of them were reported by medical care institutions, and one was medically evacuated from the airport and had the specimen collected (currently under lab examination). The possibility of H7N9 infection was denied in 3 cases (2 of them were H1N1 positive, and 1 showed negative results in lab test), and the other 6 cases were still under examination. Besides, the 3 specimens under examination yesterday all showed negative results in lab test. 

Citizens who have already signed up for a tour in China but are worried about travel safety because of the epidemic may call the domestic toll-free reporting and care hotline 1922, or the MOTC Tourism Bureau’s domestic toll-free enquiry hotline 0800-211734. For the latest updates on the epidemic situation or related information, please visit the “H7N9 Flu” page of the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov.tw).