Provinces on alert against H7N9 bird flu infections The health ministry has asked all provincial health departments to take measures to prevent the avian influenza A(H7N9) virus from entering Viet Nam.   Customs staff supervises visitors through camera surveillance system at Huu Nghi Border gate in the northern province of Lang Son. The ministry sent out instructions after the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported on the increasing number of human A(H7N9) virus infections in mainland China. The ministry has asked provinces and cities to strengthen border quarantine activities and tighten supervision of visitors entering Viet Nam through border gates, especially those coming from areas where there have been bird flu outbreaks. The people’s committees, especially of provinces and cities sharing borders with China, Cambodia and other high-risk regions, have been advised to take special care following the Government’s recent instruction number 427/CĐ-TTg. Hospitals and medical stations have also been asked to collect samples from patients with severe pneumonia to enable early detection, isolation of patients and treatment. The ministry has suggested that localities promote inspection and communication campaigns to strengthen awareness on preventing bird flu, especially in areas that share borders with China and Cambodia.    On April 5, 2017, the WHO reported 566 human Asian H7N9 virus infections during the fifth epidemic in China, bringing the total number of human H7N9 infections to 1,364 since the virus strain was first reported in China in March 2013.  During the epidemics, around 40 per cent of the people confirmed with the H7N9 virus infection, have died.  VNS