A FURTHER three people from three separate provinces have been confirmed as having contracted the H7N9 bird flu virus, health authorities said yesterday.

The infection of an 83-year-old man from Huai’an City in east China’s Jiangsu Province was confirmed yesterday morning, the provincial health and family planning commission said.

The man, surnamed Han, was identified after he took eight chickens he had raised at home to a market for slaughtering. He is in critical condition, the commission said.

A total of 13 cases of human H7N9 cases have been reported in Jiangsu Province this year, including four deaths, it said.

On Saturday, a 44-year-old man surnamed Qin from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, was also confirmed as having the virus. He is in hospital in a critical condition, the local health commission said.

The third case was in Loudi City, Hunan, where a 46-year-old man surnamed Yan became the province’s 10th victim. His condition is unknown, the health department said.

A total of 120 human H7N9 cases, including 32 deaths, have been reported this year.