Taipei, April 3 (CNA) The Department of Health (DOH) decided Wednesday to list two Chinese provinces and two cities as areas affected by a deadly bird flu virus, but stopped short of restricting entry to Taiwan by tour groups from those regions.
"The mainland Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Auhui, as well as Shanghai and Nanjing cities, have been listed as H7N9-affected areas," said Chang Feng-yee, director-general of the DOH's Centers for Disease Control.
"While we have not restricted tour groups from those areas, we have tightened health monitoring of visitors from mainland China, especially those from the H7N9-affected regions," Chang said.
The decision was made at a brainstorming session of health experts, hosted by Health Minister Chiu Wen-da.
It was decided at the meeting that the H7N9 infection would be listed as a Category 5 notifiable disease starting Wednesday, a day after China confirmed four more cases of the bird flu virus crossing over to humans.
To date, nine H7N9 cases have been confirmed, with three fatalities and six people in critical condition.
Chang said Category 5 notifiable diseases refer to newly detected infectious pathogens.
The designation of H7N9 as a notifiable disease requires physicians to report cases to health authorities within 24 hours of detection and to quarantine contagious patients, in accordance with the country's health regulations.
Chang said the DOH has also decided to set up a national H7N9 epidemic prevention and control center, which he will head.
Responding to media criticism that the DOH might have overreacted to the situation, Chang said H7N9 seems similar to the virulent H5N1bird flu strain.
"We need to heighten alerts at an early stage," Chang said, adding that it would be hardly enough to rely only on fever screening stations at ports of entry to prevent the spread of the virus.
Given the geographic proximity of Taiwan and China, the DOH needs to take precautionary measures as early as possible, he said.
He further said the DOH has informed Chinese authorities that it will like to send epidemologists to join the field studies in China and gain firsthand information about the virus.
"We have not yet received a response," Chang said.
According to the gene sequence of the H7N9 virus published online by China, the virus originated in poultry and does not contain any human or pig genes, Chang said, adding that the sequence did not show any mutation.
At the moment, he said, the virus is being transmitted mainly from poultry or other birds and has not yet reached a stage of person-to-person transmission.
Because the exact number of H7N9 cases in China is not yet known, it is too soon to estimate the disease's rates of mortality and transmission, Chang said.
It took about 10 years to detect the H5N1 virus in humans, Chang said, adding that the mortality rate of H5N1 in humans has reached 59 percent.
The H7N9 cases in China were the first recorded human infections of the virus, but it is not clear how the Chinese patients became infected.
A Chinese epidemiologist said more cases of H7N9 infection may be reported soon.
According to China's official records, three of the confirmed cases came into contact with poultry or pigs before falling ill.
Taipei, April 3 (CNA) The Department of Health (DOH) decided Wednesday to list two Chinese provinces and two cities as areas affected by a deadly bird flu virus, but stopped short of restricting entry to Taiwan by tour groups from those regions.
"The mainland Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Auhui, as well as Shanghai and Nanjing cities, have been listed as H7N9-affected areas," said Chang Feng-yee, director-general of the DOH's Centers for Disease Control.
"While we have not restricted tour groups from those areas, we have tightened health monitoring of visitors from mainland China, especially those from the H7N9-affected regions," Chang said.
The decision was made at a brainstorming session of health experts, hosted by Health Minister Chiu Wen-da.
It was decided at the meeting that the H7N9 infection would be listed as a Category 5 notifiable disease starting Wednesday, a day after China confirmed four more cases of the bird flu virus crossing over to humans.
To date, nine H7N9 cases have been confirmed, with three fatalities and six people in critical condition.
Chang said Category 5 notifiable diseases refer to newly detected infectious pathogens.
The designation of H7N9 as a notifiable disease requires physicians to report cases to health authorities within 24 hours of detection and to quarantine contagious patients, in accordance with the country's health regulations.
Chang said the DOH has also decided to set up a national H7N9 epidemic prevention and control center, which he will head.
Responding to media criticism that the DOH might have overreacted to the situation, Chang said H7N9 seems similar to the virulent H5N1bird flu strain.
"We need to heighten alerts at an early stage," Chang said, adding that it would be hardly enough to rely only on fever screening stations at ports of entry to prevent the spread of the virus.
Given the geographic proximity of Taiwan and China, the DOH needs to take precautionary measures as early as possible, he said.
He further said the DOH has informed Chinese authorities that it will like to send epidemologists to join the field studies in China and gain firsthand information about the virus.
"We have not yet received a response," Chang said.
According to the gene sequence of the H7N9 virus published online by China, the virus originated in poultry and does not contain any human or pig genes, Chang said, adding that the sequence did not show any mutation.
At the moment, he said, the virus is being transmitted mainly from poultry or other birds and has not yet reached a stage of person-to-person transmission.
Because the exact number of H7N9 cases in China is not yet known, it is too soon to estimate the disease's rates of mortality and transmission, Chang said.
It took about 10 years to detect the H5N1 virus in humans, Chang said, adding that the mortality rate of H5N1 in humans has reached 59 percent.
The H7N9 cases in China were the first recorded human infections of the virus, but it is not clear how the Chinese patients became infected.
A Chinese epidemiologist said more cases of H7N9 infection may be reported soon.
According to China's official records, three of the confirmed cases came into contact with poultry or pigs before falling ill.
"The mainland Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Auhui, as well as Shanghai and Nanjing cities, have been listed as H7N9-affected areas," said Chang Feng-yee, director-general of the DOH's Centers for Disease Control.
"While we have not restricted tour groups from those areas, we have tightened health monitoring of visitors from mainland China, especially those from the H7N9-affected regions," Chang said.
The decision was made at a brainstorming session of health experts, hosted by Health Minister Chiu Wen-da.
It was decided at the meeting that the H7N9 infection would be listed as a Category 5 notifiable disease starting Wednesday, a day after China confirmed four more cases of the bird flu virus crossing over to humans.
To date, nine H7N9 cases have been confirmed, with three fatalities and six people in critical condition.
Chang said Category 5 notifiable diseases refer to newly detected infectious pathogens.
The designation of H7N9 as a notifiable disease requires physicians to report cases to health authorities within 24 hours of detection and to quarantine contagious patients, in accordance with the country's health regulations.
Chang said the DOH has also decided to set up a national H7N9 epidemic prevention and control center, which he will head.
Responding to media criticism that the DOH might have overreacted to the situation, Chang said H7N9 seems similar to the virulent H5N1bird flu strain.
"We need to heighten alerts at an early stage," Chang said, adding that it would be hardly enough to rely only on fever screening stations at ports of entry to prevent the spread of the virus.
Given the geographic proximity of Taiwan and China, the DOH needs to take precautionary measures as early as possible, he said.
He further said the DOH has informed Chinese authorities that it will like to send epidemologists to join the field studies in China and gain firsthand information about the virus.
"We have not yet received a response," Chang said.
According to the gene sequence of the H7N9 virus published online by China, the virus originated in poultry and does not contain any human or pig genes, Chang said, adding that the sequence did not show any mutation.
At the moment, he said, the virus is being transmitted mainly from poultry or other birds and has not yet reached a stage of person-to-person transmission.
Because the exact number of H7N9 cases in China is not yet known, it is too soon to estimate the disease's rates of mortality and transmission, Chang said.
It took about 10 years to detect the H5N1 virus in humans, Chang said, adding that the mortality rate of H5N1 in humans has reached 59 percent.
The H7N9 cases in China were the first recorded human infections of the virus, but it is not clear how the Chinese patients became infected.
A Chinese epidemiologist said more cases of H7N9 infection may be reported soon.
According to China's official records, three of the confirmed cases came into contact with poultry or pigs before falling ill.
