Dozens more Chinese students were confirmed as having contracted A/H1N1 influenza Friday as the autumn term began. All the patients were in stable condition, health authorities said.

A total of 12 cases were reported at a high school in Zhengzhou, capital of the central Henan Province, early Friday, a spokesman with the provincial health department said.

Flu-like symptoms were observed among students of Henan Provincial Experimental High School Thursday, and the health department in Zhengzhou sent a medical team to its campus, he said.

The 12 were diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu shortly after midnight and were sent to hospital. The school has suspended classes for all students.

The number of cases at the Southwest Civil Aviation College in Sichuan Province rose to 43 Friday. All of them were being treated at the Chengdu Infectious Disease Hospital.

A total of 23 A/H1N1 cases were reported at the Xi'an University of Arts and Science Thursday and Friday.

A high school in Lixin County, in eastern China's Anhui Province, reported 17 cases of the flu Thursday night, the provincial health department said in a statement Friday.

A department spokesman said the patients were being treated at the county hospital. "They were all in stable condition and none of the cases was life-threatening," he said.

The school announced a seven-day break starting Friday and quarantined those who had been in close contact with the confirmed patients. All other students had been told to remain at home for observation.

The number of confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases on Chinese campuses has been growing since the autumn term started Tuesday.

Schools and kindergartens across China have stepped up health checks for students and teachers this week.

In Beijing, school children are requested to report their temperatures on a daily basis.

The Beijing municipal government will begin to offer flu vaccinations in September and complete its program in late October. Free vaccinations will be provided to 1.8 million residents aged 60 or older as well as all primary and middle school students.

The State Food and Drug Administration approved A/H1N1 flu vaccines produced by two domestic pharmaceutical companies Thursday and Friday.

The country had reported 3,981 A/H1N1 cases on its mainland as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, the last time the figure was updated. Of them, 3,391 had recovered and no deaths were reported.

Globally, the disease has killed about 2,000 people and infected more than 180,000. It has spread to more than 170 countries.