A woman in eastern China, a teenage boy in southwest China and a woman in Beijing have also died from the disease this month.
A 2-year-old girl was also sickened with H5N1 but recovered. The Health Ministry said her mother, who like the toddler went to a live poultry market, had died of pneumonia in early January. Doctors said they could not confirm the cause of death.
China launched a daily bird flu reporting system for poultry and human cases Thursday, underscoring its concerns about potential epidemics.
Provincial health and agriculture departments must report to the Health Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce every day on whether there have been infections in their areas.
The Agriculture Ministry has also ordered increased monitoring and management of live poultry markets, especially before next week's Lunar New Year holiday, when people will have more contact with chickens and ducks while preparing celebratory meals.
Despite the new cases, the Health Ministry has said there was no evidence of a large-scale outbreak of bird flu. It said the illnesses were isolated, unrelated and did not show significant mutations of the H5N1 virus.
They also occurred during the cold months, which experts have determined are high season for infections, it said.
