Two new cases of human bird flu reported

China has reported two new cases of human bird flu infection, bringing the total this week to three, stoking fears about the spread of the deadly virus at a time when other Asian nations are battling to control outbreaks of the disease.

A man diagnosed with the H7N9 strain of bird flu in Jiangsu province is being treated in Shanghai, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning said on its website on Wednesday.

In Xiamen, a city in East China's Fujian province, local authorities ordered a halt to poultry sales in Siming district from Thursday after a 44-year-old man was diagnosed with the H7N9 strain of bird flu on Sunday, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. The patient is being treated in hospital and is in stable condition, according to the Xiamen Center for Disease Control and Prevention.