First patient infected with H7N9 in Beijing discharged from hospital

A seven-year-old girl in Beijing who was infected with H7N9 bird flu, the first such case in the Chinese capital, was discharged from hospital Wednesday afternoon, local health authorities announced.

The girl, surnamed Yao, has fully recovered and has tested negative for the H7N9 virus on four occasions, according to sources with the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau at a press briefing at the Beijing Ditan Hospital, where the girl was being treated.

She was allowed to leave the hospital after meeting physical condition standards, the bureau said. The medical observation of her parents, the only two people who have had close contact with her, was also terminated on Wednesday.

Yao was hospitalized on April 11 and confirmed as the first H7N9 infection case in Beijing on April 13.

Meanwhile, a four-year-old carrying the H7N9 virus in Beijing is in stable condition, and his medical observation in Ditan Hospital will end soon, said Chen Zhihai, director of the hospital's infectious disease department.

As of Tuesday night, 77 H7N9 bird flu cases have been reported across China, of which 16 have ended in death, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

From 8 p.m. Tuesday to 5 p.m. Wednesday, China confirmed five new cases of human H7N9 avian influenza infection, including one in Shanghai and four in Zhejiang Province.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said in its daily update on H7N9 cases that a total of 82 H7N9 cases have been reported in China, including 17 that have ended in death.

Of the total, five H7N9 patients have been discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment, and the other 60 patients are being treated in designated hospitals, according to the commission.

A total of 31 cases, including 11 that have ended in death, have been reported in Shanghai. Twenty cases, including three deaths, have been reported in Jiangsu Province, and 25 cases, including two deaths, in Zhejiang Province. Anhui Province has reported three cases, with one death. Beijing has reported one case and two have been reported in Henan Province.

China officially confirmed the occurrence of humans infected with the H7N9 virus late last month.

According to the commission, China's confirmed H7N9 cases are isolated and there has been no sign of human-to-human transmission.

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