Headquarter of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Photo: Xinhua

(Xinhua) - Two of the three Chinese who contracted H7N9 avian influenza in Shanghai and Anhui Province have died while the third patient is in critical condition, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Monday. The first victim was an 87-year-old male in Shanghai Province, who became ill on February 19 and died on March 4. Another victim, a 27-year-old male who is also from Shanghai, became ill on February 27 and died on March 10. Previously, the virus showed no sign of being highly contagious in humans or likely to spread widely. However, as only three cases of human infection by H7N9 have been reported, relatively little research has been done on it. There are no vaccines against the H7N9 bird flu virus either in China or in the world.