China has eight more H1N1 flu cases

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese health authorities confirmed eight cases of H1N1 swine flu infection on Sunday, bringing total confirmed infections on the mainland to 80, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

There have been no reports of deaths from H1N1 flu in China.

According to the World Health Organization, the new influenza strain has been found in 64 countries and remains most prevalent in North America. WHO labs have confirmed nearly 19,000 infections including 117 people who have died.

In Beijing, a 12-year-old Chinese boy and two foreigners tested positive for the flu on Sunday, Xinhua quoted the municipal health bureau as saying.

The boy studied in the United States and returned to China from Orlando last Saturday, Xinhua said, adding that the two foreigners were disease control officials from a Southeast Asian country who were undergoing training in the Chinese capital.

Two new cases were reported in Shanghai, a 47-year-old Chinese woman and a 24-year-old Frenchman, said Chen Qiwei, a spokesman for the municipal government.

In Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, a two-year-old Chinese girl was confirmed infected with H1N1 flu, the provincial health department said.

Two women were infected through local transmission in the southwestern province of Sichuan, Xinhua said.

(Reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim, editing by Tim Pearce)