China tightens inter-departmental H7N9 coordination

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) said on Tuesday it is now coordinating closely with other departments to prevent and control the H7N9 avian flu. The NHFPC has strengthened the coordination system with other departments to share information and study work plans, and in the meantime, it has analyzed H7N9 cases so as to guide local health departments to diagnose and treat patients as quickly as possible. From Jan. 13 to 17, the health authority, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and China Food and Drug Administration, supervised H7N9 prevention and control efforts in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong. It also put forward a national strategy for prevention and control after consultation with experts in some key provinces. China's health authority also strengthened monitoring of pneumonia cases with unknown reasons and influenza, assessing the risk of the epidemic situation and putting forward suggestions on matter. The NHFPC said earlier this month that a large-scale H7N9 epidemic is unlikely, despite scores of cases reported nationwide this year. The current cases are scattered, and no mutation of the virus has been identified so far that could affect public health, according to the commission.