Shanxi provincial health officials (first and second from right) greet a 3-year-old baby girl who was fully recovered on Tuesday from bird flu that was diagnosed early on January 17. The baby left hospital on February 3, 2009 after being kept under close watch and treatment by a medical expert team for three weeks. [Photo: daynews.com.cn]

A 3-year-old girl has become the youngest person ever in China to recover from bird flu infection.

The girl, identified only by her surname Peng, was hospitalized last month in north China's Shanxi Province after being diagnosed with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

She was discharged Tuesday from the No.4 People's Hospital in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi.

Holding the baby girl in his arms at the hospital, father Peng Zhiwen said, "I am so excited, but above all, I should thank all people who have shown care for my daughter."

She is the first of eight people infected with bird flu in China since the beginning of the year to recover, said Gao Guoshun, chief of Shanxi Provincial Department of Health.

The girl was also the youngest person to recover from the disease in China, said Gao.

The girl developed a fever Jan. 7 when she was in Hunan Province, central China, visiting the family of her father, an automobile dealer. After she returned to her home in Xiaoyi, Shanxi, she became seriously ill and was taken to Fenyang Hospital near her home Jan.14.

She was transferred to the Taiyuan-based Shanxi Provincial Children's Hospital, which reported the case to the health authorities at provincial and national levels. Tests were carried out to confirm the diagnosis.

The girl was confirmed as having the pathogenic bird flu strain known as H5N1 Jan.17 and was transferred to the No.4 People's Hospital in Taiyuan for intensive care.

China has reported eight human cases of the H5N1 strain this year, including five deaths.