Doctors have discharged from observation all 200 people who had been in close contact with a woman who died of bird flu in Beijing early this month, the Municipal Health Bureau announced on Monday.

The bureau also reported no new suspected bird flu cases as of midday Monday, after having surveyed at least 358,820 people on Sunday.

Beijing municipal health authorities started to monitor migrant workers and high-risk groups who had been involved in poultry farming, slaughtering, and sales, after they confirmed a 19-year-old woman was infected with bird flu and died in Beijing on Jan. 5.

Huang Yanqing, a native of eastern Fujian Province, was the first human bird flu case reported in Beijing since 2003, according to the municipal health bureau.

Huang fell ill on Dec. 24. Her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to hospital on Dec. 27.

She tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. Ministry of Health experts determined that Huang was infected with bird flu.

Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said about 200 people, including the patient's 14 family members and neighbors, had been in close contact with the patient.

The municipal government launched bird flu prevention and control measures, including disinfecting and isolating the patient's house and wards she had used and issuing an alert to all medical institutions.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2009)