BRUSSELS, March 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A Belgian man who has been admitted to the hospital with flu-like symptoms tested negative on Wednesday for the dangerous H5N1 variant of the avian bird flu virus, local media reported.

    The man, whose name or age were not given, returned from a rural Chinese region where bird flu in endemic on Saturday and decided to go to hospital on Monday after getting high fever and strong headaches, it was reported.

    "The first tests are negative," a spokeswoman for a Belgian government influenza agency was quoted as saying. "We will do some second tests but we don't expect to find anything positive."

    Further tests are due to be carried out on Thursday. Enditem