A man in Shanghai died from the H7N9 strain of bird flu on Friday, local health authorities said, raising the death toll from the virus in China's mainland to 38.

The 59 year old, surnamed Shen, died on Friday afternoon, nearly two months after being confirmed as infected with the virus, the Shanghai Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement late on Friday.

Shanghai has so far reported 33 human infections. Fifteen have been cured and discharged from hospitals, 15 have died and the remaining three are still being treated, it said.

The Chinese mainland has so far reported 131 confirmed H7N9 cases, 38 of which have ended in death.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2013)