New cases arrive on N. America flights

The number of confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) flu on the Chinese mainland has risen to nine, with two new cases in Beijing and Fujian province.

The Ministry of Health said two more suspected cases were also reported in Shanghai and Zhejiang province.

A two-year-old girl in eastern Fujian province, who returned from the United States with her family via Hong Kong, tested positive for the H1N1 flu, the ministry said on its website.

The patient, the eighth confirmed case on the mainland, is isolated and receiving treatment in Fuzhou.

"She is in stable condition, with normal body temperature and conditions so far," Lin Zhongxuan, deputy president of the hospital told China Daily.

Eight people, she came into close contact with, including family members and a taxi driver, are quarantined in hospital. None have shown flu symptoms.

The provincial health department tracked down and put under observation 30 out of the 38 people she had close contact with on board, flight KA662, which she and her family took on Wednesday. Eight others have left the mainland. In Beijing, the local health bureau reported its fifth confirmed case, the ninth on the mainland, late last night. It involved a 46-year-old man surnamed Zhang who boarded flight AC031 from Canada and reached Beijing at 4 pm on May 21.

Zhang said he took subway line No 10 from Guomao station to Huangzhuang station between noon and 1 pm Friday. Later he took the line from Huangzhuang station to Jinsong station at 3 pm.

The municipal health bureau asked those who took the lines during those periods to see a doctor if they had flu symptoms.

The suspected case in Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang province, involved a 19-year-old boy. He boarded China Eastern Airlines flight MU588 from New York at 1:45 am (local time) on Thursday. He arrived in Shanghai at 4:30 am on Friday and then flew from Shanghai to Wenzhou on China Eastern Airlines flight MU5585 the same day.

The Shanghai case involves a 30-year-old Chinese man working for an Australian company. He boarded China Airlines flight CA178 from Melbourne at 9:55 (local time) on Saturday and arrived in Shanghai at 18:40 on Saturday.