Two more people in China have died from the H7N9 bird flu virus, raising the country's death toll to five, state-run news agency Xinhua reported Thursday, citing Shanghai health officials.

H7N9 is a strain of avian flu not detected in humans before China's recent cases, which the country began reporting on Sunday.

Fourteen human cases of H7N9 - all in eastern China - have now been reported, according to Xinhua.