A resident of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, has been put under criminal detention on charges of fabricating and deliberately spreading bogus information online claiming that over 10 had been killed by the new strain of avian influenza virus, H7N9, in the province.

The man, surnamed Nan, who posted the information in his QQ space and Tencent microblogging service, admitted that he just wanted to increase visitor traffic. Local police then started investigating and detained Nan in an effort to ease local residents' fears.

Provincial disease control authorities also confirmed that the province has not reported a single H7N9 case so far.