Beijing  - China on Wednesday reported a second suspected case of the influenza A H1N1 virus in a 19-year-old man who recently returned from Canada.

The student, identified only by the surname Lu, reported his symptoms to health authorities by telephone on Monday night while he was aboard a train from Beijing to his home province of Shandong, the health ministry said.

Lu, who arrived in Beijing from Canada on Friday, recorded a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, a sore throat and headache.

He was isolated at a hospital in the provincial capital of Jinan, where health officials were awaiting test results, the ministry said.

Mainland China's first confirmed H1N1 patient was recovering in the south-western province of Sichuan after becoming following flights from the United States via Tokyo and Beijing..

More than 350 passengers who travelled on the same two flights as the 30-year-old man were placed in seven-day quarantine, the ministry said.

Chinese authorities also put 103 guests and employees at at Beijing airport hotel, where the swine-flu patient stayed for a few hours on Saturday, under quarantine.

At least nine foreigners are among the isolated guests, the China News Service said.

Confirmed infections with H1N1 had risen to 5,251, including 61 deaths, by Tuesday according to the World Health Organization.

Most of the confirmed cases are in Mexico and the United States. (dpa)