A nine-year-old girl in east China´s Zhejiang Province and a 26-year-old woman farmer in east China´s Anhui Province were confirmed to be infected with H5N1 bird flu, reported the Ministry of Health on Saturday.

    The Zhejiang girl, surnamed You, lives in Anji County. She showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on Feb. 10 and has been hospitalized. She is now in critical condition, said a report released by the ministry.

    According to investigation, You visited relatives twice in Guangde County of Anhui Province before she fell ill. During her visits, chickens raised at her relatives´ homes got sick and some died.

    The exact source of You´s infection is under further investigation, said the ministry.

    You´s samples tested H5N1 positive by both the Zhejiang provincial center for disease control and prevention (CDC) and China´s national CDC.

    The other new case in Anhui is from Yingshang County, and the patient is identified by the surname Wang. She developed fever and pneumonia symptoms on Feb. 11. The report says she is also in critical condition.

    Wang had contact with sick and dead poultry, according to investigation. The local agricultural department has isolated H5N1 virus strain from samples of dead chickens in Yingshang County, said the ministry.

    Wang´s samples tested H5N1 positive by both the Anhui provincial CDC and the national CDC.

    The two patients have been confirmed to be infected with bird flu in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese official standards, said the ministry.

    Those having close contacts with You and Wang have been put under medical observation by local health authorities. So far, no abnormal symptoms have been reported.

    The ministry has reported the new cases to the WHO and the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as several countries.

    These cases brought the total number of human cases of bird flu in China to 14. Previously, the country reported 12 cases, in which eight patients died and the remaining four have been discharged from hospital.

    In Yingshang County of Anhui, inspection teams from the Ministry of Agriculture and the provincial agricultural authorities found 13 chickens died in Jitai Village on Feb. 22. H5N1 virus were isolated from samples of four dead chickens by the national bird flu reference laboratory on Saturday.

    The local government has culled more than 200 fowls in the area and intensified prevention measures, according to sources with the Ministry of Agriculture, which noted that the epidemic is now under control.

    A total of 170 human cases of bird flu involving 92 deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Feb. 20, according to the WHO.

    Chinese health officials have suspected that some cases of human infection of bird flu were caused by environmental contamination.

    The human cases found in areas where no outbreak of bird flu in animals had been reported were most likely caused by environmental contamination by sick or dead birds, said Mao Qun´an, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, at a press conference earlier this month.

    The official also said there is no evidence to suggest that China´s bird flu virus has mutated to a form that can spread between humans, as studies show the avian flu virus isolated from China´s human cases still bears distinct avian features far different from the human flu virus. 

22 mln fowls culled last year to curb bird flu

    China culled 22,571,200 fowls in 2005 to curb bird flu, said China´s Agriculture Minister Du Qinglin, who also warned the public against a possible massive outbreak of this lethal epidemic.

    Last year about 163,100 fowls were found to have infected the H5N1 virus, 154,600 of which died of the pandemic, said the minister when briefing the Standing Committee of the 10th National People´s Congress (NPC), China´s top legislature, here on Saturday.

    Last year, China reported 31 highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in poultry and one in migratory birds.

    "The outbreaks hit 13 provinces and 32 counties, but all of them were effectively controlled without any large-scale virus spreading," Du said.

    "In view of the current situation, the possibility of a massive bird flu outbreak could not be ruled out," Du warned.

    He said all agricultural departments would be on high alert, stick to consistent epidemic monitoring, diagnosing and reporting, and strengthen poultry vaccinating and virus testing.

    Chinese farmers raised about 15 billion poultry in 2005, or 21 percent of the world´s total, Du said, adding that raising poultry is one of the main income sources for the farmers.