H7N9 rumor spreaders detained in SW China

CHENGDU -- Two men and a woman from Southwest China's Sichuan province were detained by police after they allegedly spread rumors about H7N9 bird flu on the Internet, local police said via an official account on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Wednesday.

The suspects, surnamed Wang, Chen and Han, from the capital city of Chengdu, allegedly posted rumors via WeChat, a popular instant messaging app. They said that many people in the city had died from the H7N9 avian flu. The post was spread widely among netizens and aroused panic among the public, according to Chengdu police's official account.

Sichuan province has not reported any human H7N9 cases so far this year.

Two men from North China's Shanxi province and Northwest China's Liaoning province were detained for spreading H7N9 rumors in January.

On Wednesday, east China's Jiangsu province reported another H7N9 case.