A seven-year-old boy in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province died of seasonal influenza and severe pneumonia Friday, local health authorities confirmed Saturday.

The A/H1N1 strain was found in the flu viruses infected the first grader at Yingjun Primary School in Suihua City, a provincial health bureau official said.

But it was not yet known if the A/H1N1 flu was the main cause for the boy's death.

The A/H1N1 flu has earlier caused two deaths in the country -- an 18-year-old woman in Tibet who died on Oct. 4, and a 43-year-old woman who died on Oct. 16 in Tibet's neighboring province of Qinghai.

The bronchial asthma patient was admitted to the Suihua No. 1 Hospital at about 8:30 a.m. Friday in the wake of asthma attacks on Thursday.

He died at about 6 p.m. Friday after all emergency efforts failed, including anti-inflammatory treatment and intake of antiviral drug Tamiflu.

The boy died of mixed, but mainly bacterial infections, the unnamed official said, citing diagnosis from doctors.

Further details were not immediately known.

In another case, a 72-year-old man, the first severe A/H1N1 influenza patient in Beijing, died of chronic illnesses early Friday morning even after the flu was cured.

Xie Baoling was admitted to the Beijing Ditan Hospital on Oct. 4 and was diagnosed as the first severe H1N1 flu case in Beijing, hospital head Mao Yu said Saturday.

His flu was cured on Oct. 21, Mao said.

The man also suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory failure, and severe hypertension.

The Chinese mainland reported 2,024 confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 flu in the 48 hours ending at 3 p.m. Friday, bringing the total number to 33,064, the Ministry of Health said Friday.

So far, 26,588 patients have recovered. Fourteen of the 44 patients in serious conditions have been cured, the ministry said.

China is currently experiencing what experts called "a second round of A/H1N1 flu infection," as recent infections are more widespread and increasing rapidly.

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