China has reported so far 18 cases of human infection with the H5N1 virus, out of which 12 proved to be fatal. The most recent case was that of an 8-year-old girl in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Health officials stated that she is in critical condition, receiving treatment at Suining Municipal People's Hospital in Sichuan. The girl named Sun, the 3rd person to contract bird flu in this province, is from Tangjia Township, a city in central Sichuan. She showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on April 16, after several birds died at her house. Tests on the girl ran by local authorities said she was suffering with bird flu, confirming the H5N1 virus on Thursday. Nearly 150 people who had been in close contact with the girl have been put under medical observation in order to minimize the threat. Sichuan's first 2 infections with bird flu on humans were in January. A 35-year-old poultry slaughterer and a 29-year-old grocery store owner died after felling ill. A Chinese newspaper wrote on Thursday that, according to anonymous sources, local Chinese health officials did not report possible human cases to the central government and may be concealing suspected cases. The report stated that the actual number of deaths caused by bird flu may be higher than 12. "All the local cases are reported immediately and the release of information is timely, open and transparent," Ministry of Health spokesman Mao Qunan stated.