Two more Chinese people were found to have contracted avian influenza strain H7N9 in China, bringing the total count of cases to 16.

Beijing News reports the new strain was detected in a 61-year-old woman and 79-year-old man living in Nanjing.

Chinese officials were reported saying avian influenza is being contracted by humans from fowl sporadically, and there have been no cases where the disease was spread by human contact.