China's health authorities confirmed on Saturday three more cases of human H7N9 bird flu infection in three different provinces.

The recent confirmed cases have brought to more than 120 the human bird flu infections this year. Of the cases registered, at least 36 deaths have been confirmed.

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On Saturday, health officials said the three people confirmed infected with the virus were from Wuxi City in Jiangsu, Fuqing City in Fujian and Boluo County in Guangdong.

The provincial health department of Jiangsu said the 35-year-old patient was confirmed to be infected with the bird flu virus on Friday night.

The department said the patient, with a surname of Qian, is in critical condition.

In Fujian, the total number of human infections has already soared to 17, with five fatalities, with the latest confirmation made on a 72-year-old last Friday.

In Guandong, a 55-year-old woman was the latest confirmed case of H5N9 bird flu infections, local health authorities said.

The Guandong provincial health department said the woman as in critical condition. Last week, Guangdong health officials reported 12 confirmed cases of H7N9 human infections for the month of March alone.

The Guangzhou Provincial Agriculture Department ordered the disposal of at least 80,000 live chickens after a poultry farm in Zhuhai City tested positive for the bird flu virus.

The H7N9 bird flu virus has resulted to billions in losses to China's poultry industry as authorities would often order mass killing of poultry animals the moment their farms are found positive of the virus.

According to the China Poultry Association, the poultry industry has already suffered losses amounting to more than US$6.7 billion since the H7N9 outbreak was declared in March of last year.