A steep increase of human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) has been reported since the beginning of December 2016 from China. At present, the most immediate threat to EU citizens is to those living or visiting influenza A(H7N9)-affected areas in China concludes the updated rapid risk assessment.
In August 2014, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported two laboratory-confirmed human infections with a A(H3N2) variant influenza virus of swine origin A(H3N2)v in Ohio, USA.
The final report of the FLURISK project by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposes a risk assessment framework to rank animal influenza strains according to their potential to infect humans.
Since 31 March 2013, one hundred and twenty one (121) cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported from eight provinces and two municipalities in eastern China and one (1) from Taiwan.
Since the previous ECDC epidemiological update, 20 new cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been reported, including two fatalities in previously confirmed cases. The geographical spread includes two additional provinces: Beijing and Henan.