Beijing's first H7N9 patient recovered

The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau's spokesman says, as of Tuesday afternoon, there has been no new case of H7N9 infection in the past 24 hours.

And the first patient in the city to contract the virus, a 7-year-old girl, has fully recovered and may leave the hospital on Wednesday.

Good news for Beijing's first and so far only patient with the H7N9 bird flu.

Cheng Jun, Spokesman, Beijing Ditan Hospital, said, "The treatment for the patient has gone well in the past 6 days and the flu symptoms has generally disappeared. She's recovered very well."

Zhong Dongbo, Spokesman, Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, said, "We believe the girl can leave hospital tomorrow."

Zhong also says the girl's parents, who have been under quarantine, have shown no signs of infection and may also go home. In another case, the 4-year-old boy, who tested positive for H7N9, has shown no symptoms at all.

But the city is still on high alert. A spokesperson from the Beijing Center of Disease Control, Pang Xinghua, says virus screening has expanded from the group with the highest infection risk, mainly those involved in poultry trade, to the general public. So far 630 thousand people have been screened.

Special report: H7N9 avian influenza