In Hubei, a migrant worker died of the killer disease at the provincial capital Wuhan on Wednesday, raising to 12 the number of dead in China since last November. He was confirmed to be infected with bird flu on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old man, identified as Lai, was a security guard with a company in Wuhan.

Lai went back to attend a funeral for his uncle at his hometown in Shadi township of Hubei's Enshi City on March 18. He bought 20 kilograms of frozen chicken for the funeral party which he attended. The product reportedly was processed by a company in Liaoning Province. The manufacture date on its package was December 2005.

Other funeral party attenders who ate the chicken didn't show abnormal symptoms, the provincial Chutian Metropolis News said.

He returned to the Wuhan company on March 25.

Seven days later, Lai began coughing and running fever but didn't visit a doctor until April 7. A Wuhan hospital suggested he ought to be hospitalized two days later when his pneumonia symptoms didn't alleviate, but he didn't listen, according to the newspaper.

On April 11, he received inpatient treatment. Two days later, his condition deteriorated quickly and was transferred to the city's designated hospital for infectious diseases.

Yesterday afternoon, two epidemiologists sent by the Ministry of Agriculture arrived at Lai's hometown to probe after they investigated in Wuhan in the morning.

An investigation on poultry within 3 kilometers of Lai's home is expected to last two to three days.

Also yesterday, the Ministry of Health said the H5N1 strain of virus has been found in two dead birds in Liaoning Province.

Liaoning has been among the hardest-hit provinces, with four outbreaks confirmed in November.