Singapore: The National and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) announced four cases of human infection with the Avian Influenza A (H7N9) virus. However, there are no travel or trade restrictions imposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as yet.

All the four cases mentioned history of exposure to live poultry. Out of the four, three cases are from the Meizhou City, Guandong Province and one case from the Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. The Chinese government is taking precautions to avoid further spread of the disease, by increasing surveillance and communicating risk to the public. There is no indication of international spread of the virus as human to human transmission is very unlikely. Therefore, the risk of global spread by international travelers from the affected areas is very low.

WHO has urged countries to strengthen the surveillance for infections and to continue health preparedness. WHO has further appealed that a diagnosis for influenza virus must be considered in patients who develop severe acute respiratory symptoms after travel to the critical areas.