19 May 2013 (09:06 UTC-07 Tango)/09 Rajab 1434/29 Ordibehest 1392/10 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

A new joint statement by China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, and the UN World Health Organization, admits H7N9 has a higher chance for human to human infection than any other known ‘bird’ flu.

Also, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control revealed that the only human case in their country never showed the officially recognized symptoms of H7N9.   The case was discovered simply because the man’s doctor was suspicious because the man just returned from infected areas of China.  Health officials noted that throat swabs were conducted daily, with negative results on day four and nine, yet a positive result on day eight.

The case caused Taiwan’s health officials to change their guidelines for diagnosing H7N9.   Since then they’ve tested at least 399 people, all tested negative for H7N9.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is preparing for H7N9 in Europe.  Health officials say the virus could be brought in via illegally imported poultry, or migrating birds, or even by infected humans: “Highly significant events include: transmission in countries distant from China, isolation of viruses from domestic birds in Europe, locally acquired infections in Europe and sustained human-to-human transmission. Epidemic intelligence is crucial for detecting trigger events.”