Beijing's 2nd H7N9 patient discharged

BEIJING - Beijing's second patient with the H7N9 strain of bird flu has been discharged from the hospital after showing negative test results, health authorities in Beijing said on Friday.

The Beijing municipal health bureau confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that a six-year-old boy had contracted the disease.

The child developed symptoms including fever and a headache on May 21 and he was sent to a hospital for medical treatment the same day, the bureau said in a statement.

His body temperature returned to normal on May 23 and he returned to kindergarten the next day, according to the statement.

The boy was sent to Beijing Ditan Hospital for further medical observation and treatment after his infection with H7N9 was confirmed.

Three laboratory tests all showed that he was negative of the H7N9 virus, indicating that he was qualified for discharge.

According to the bureau, six of 58 people who have had close contact with the boy have been removed from medical observation, while the others had shown no abnormalities by midnight Thursday.

The Chinese mainland has so far reported 131 confirmed H7N9 cases, 37 of which have ended in death.