After three months' treatment, Li Yinxiu, a human case of H5N1
bird flu virus, recovered and went out of hospital at 8:25 Tuesday,
in Jian'ou city of east China's Fujian Province.
China has reported a total of 25 human cases of bird flu since
2003, which have caused 15 deaths. The Ministry of Health confirmed
last August that the country's first human case of H5N1 bird flu
virus occurred in November 2003. A 24-year-old man who died in
Beijing in 2003, was initially thought to be suffering from SARS.
Further laboratory tests later confirmed he died of human avian
influenza.
The H5N1 bird flu virus is currently not very contagious, but
experts fear it may mutate into a form that spreads easily among
people, potentially sparking a pandemic.
Late April, the National People's Congress, China's top
legislature, began deliberating a draft amendment to the law on
animal disease in order to prevent future animal epidemics
(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2007)