Two more people have tested positive for the H7N9 bird flu virus in east China´s Jiangsu Province, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 35, health authorities said Thursday.

A thirty-one-year-old man surnamed Yin, a restaurant chef in the city of Yangzhou, suffered flu symptoms on March 31 and was diagnosed with H7N9 avian influenza on Thursday at noon, according to a statement issued by the health department of the province.

Yin, who is receiving treatment in the provincial capital of Nanjing, is in a critical condition, said the statement.

Another man surnamed Qian, 56, and a teacher in the city of Suzhou, was suffering flu symptoms on April 3. He also tested positive for the H7N9 bird flu virus on Thursday at noon, it said.

He is also in a critical condition and is being treated in a hospital of Suzhou.

A total of 52 people who have been in contact with the two men have so far shown no abnormal symptoms.

So far 35 cases of H7N9 bird flu infections have been reported in the country, of which nine people have died.