The Chinese mainland reported 15 new confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases on Thursday, bringing the total number to 126.

There have been no reports of deaths from A/H1N1 flu on the Chinese mainland, the Ministry of Health said.

Four new cases were confirmed in southern Guangdong Province on Thursday, including a 20-year-old Chinese-American man, the Guangdong Provincial Health Department told reporters.

Beijing also reported four new cases, including a couple of Chinese-American sisters aged nine and six, an eight-year-old Chinese-Canadian boy, and a 10-year-old Chinese-American girl.

In Fuzhou, capital of southeastern Fujian Province, two patients, including a nine-year-old American boy and 47-year-old Chinese man who worked in the United States, tested positive for the flu virus Thursday.

The northern port city of Tianjin also reported two new confirmed cases Thursday, both Chinese who had returned from the United States.

In addition, one new case each from provinces of Zhejiang, Sichuan and Jiangxi were reported Thursday, local health authorities said.

The patient in Jiangxi, a 16-year-old Chinese girl who studied in the United States, was the first confirmed case in the province.

According to local health authorities, 33 confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases have been reported in Beijing, 31 in Guangdong, 20 in Fujian,13 in Shanghai, 11 in Sichuan, four in Hubei, three each in Tianjin, Shandong and Zhejiang, two in Hunan, and one each in Shanxi, Henan and Jiangxi.

Of the 126 cases, 60 have been discharged from hospital, the Health Ministry said.

Also Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an A/H1N1 flu pandemic -- the first global flu epidemic in 41 years. The WHO raised its alert to the maximum level six, which means a global outbreak of the flu has begun.

Worldwide, the new influenza strain has been found in 74 countries and regions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO labs have confirmed nearly 27,737 cases including 141 people who have died.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2009)