The tally of A(H1N1) flu cases on the Chinese mainland rose to 46 yesterday after seven more people were confirmed of having the virus.

Beijing reported a 36-year-old Chinese Canadian, who arrived in Beijing on an Air Canada flight fom Canada on Thursday. A 12-year-old Chinese boy, who arrived in Beijing by a Continental Airlines flight from the United States on Monday was also tested for (A)H1N1.

All the people who had close contact with them have been found, said the municipal health bureau. The city has reported 13 cases in total.

Guangdong province reported its 13th case yesterday: a 45-year-old man, living in Zhuhai, who arrived in Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight from New York on Friday. He later arrived in Macao by Turbojet ferry, arrived home on Saturday and was hospitalized on Sunday.

Shanghai announced two Chinese women from the United States as the city's sixth and seventh cases.

One of the women, a 60-year-old, arrived in Shanghai early Friday on flight MU588. The other was an 18-year-old woman who arrived in the city via flight UA835 on Saturday.

The Ministry of Health reported two cases in Hubei and Henan. Both were confirmed yesterday morning after clinical diagnosis, epidemiological investigation and lab tests.

Meanwhile, police have detained a man in central China who apparently pretended to have caught the A(H1N1) flu virus.

The man, surnamed Qiao, attended the outpatient department of a hospital in Xiangfan, Hubei province, on Monday, claiming he had a fever and swollen throat, said police in Xiangfan.

He told doctors he had flown into Shanghai the previous Monday after touring California, and said he took a plane to Wuhan and a bus to Xiangfan, a police statement said.

Qiao was quarantined but test results came out negative.

Police later found no record of him leaving China and he was detained for "lying about an epidemic situation, wasting public resources and disturbing public order".