Lu (C), China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient, reacts as he leaves a hospital in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, May 19, 2009. China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient was discharged from hospital at 9 a.m. Tuesday after eight days of treatment.(Xinhua/Fan Changguo) Photo Gallery>>>

    JINAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient was discharged from hospital at 9 a.m. Tuesday after eight days of treatment in this capital of east China's Shandong Province.

    Chen Shijun, director of the Infectious Disease Hospital in Jinan, where the patient surnamed Lu was treated, confirmed that lab tests of the flu patient's saliva samples proved negative for A/H1N1 influenza virus on Monday.

    The patient who only gave his surname of Lu walked out of isolated ward and shook hands with doctors in the hospital. He joked that he has become a star and only wanted to return to his normal life.

    Thirty-eight people were quarantined for having close contact with Lu in the same car of train D41 from Beijing to Jinan on May 11. Their quarantine was lifted on Monday.

    He said, "I just finished my middle school study in Canada and am about to enter a college there, so the time staying in China is valuable."

    "I wanted to go sightseeing and shopping in Beijing, but at that time, I really didn't know I was infected with A/H1N1," said the 19-year-old Lu.

    Lu said on Monday in an interview with Xinhua that he was sorry for those people who were quarantined and he hoped to be understood. Some netizens criticized him for going to many public places and exposing the disease to people.

Lu (R), China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient, receives a bouquet from a nurse as he leaves a hospital in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, May 19, 2009. China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient was discharged from hospital at 9 a.m. Tuesday after eight days of treatment.(Xinhua/Fan Changguo) Photo Gallery>>>

    His father made a public apology Sunday on a local television station, saying his family was sorry that Lu's illness had led to the quarantine of so many people and so much government spending.

    The government and health authorities are very much concerned about the health of Chinese students studying abroad amid the spread of A/H1N1 influenza.

    "The motherland is the home of Chinese overseas students and we are concerned about your health," said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao upon visiting China's third diagnosed A/H1N1 flu patient in hospital in Beijing on Sunday.

    He said overseas students in epidemic areas should learn more to protect themselves from the flu and understand the preventive and control measures China has taken.

    Beijing Municipal Health Bureau and Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday jointly issued a letter to the country's overseas students, reminding them of keeping specific travel information and avoiding meeting people in the public when they return home.

    China has reported three confirmed A/H1N1 influenza cases. The first A/H1N1 flu patient in the Chinese mainland was discharged from hospital Sunday in southwestern Sichuan Province. The Ministry of Health reported Monday one more suspected case in south China's Guangdong. All of the patients were people who returned from North American region.

Lu (C), China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient, is surrounded by reporters as he leaves a hospital in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, May 19, 2009. China's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza patient was discharged from hospital at 9 a.m. Tuesday after eight days of treatment.(Xinhua/Fan Changguo) Photo Gallery>>>

Quarantine ends for 38 exposed to Shandong A/H1N1 flu case

    JINAN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Quarantine ended Monday evening for the 38 people who were exposed to the mainland's second confirmed A/H1N1 influenza case in the eastern Shandong Province, a government spokesman said.

    The 38, including 35 passengers and three crew members who had close contacts with flu patient surnamed Lu in the same car of train D41 from Beijing to Shandong's capital Jinan on May 11, didn't show any symptom of being infected during the seven days in quarantine, said Li Zhongjun, spokesman of the Shandong provincial health department. Full story

China calls for int'l co-op in tackling A/H1N1 flu outbreak 

    GENEVA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- International cooperation must be carried out for a global response to the current A/H1N1 influenza outbreak, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said here on Monday.

    "Economic globalization has led to a global transmission of diseases. To address this global challenge, a better way is to take global actions," Chen said in a speech to the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA). Full story

Self-prevention key link in controlling spread of H1N1 flu

    BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The A/H1N1 flu virus is continuing to spread worldwide, and the international community has attached great importance to its prevention and strengthened preventive measures.

    Since the outbreak of the epidemic, governments and peoples across the world have adopted various measures, including boosting the idea of self-prevention and other effective methods to fight the deadly flu. Full story

China reports new suspected case of A/H1N1 flu

    GUANGZHOU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authorities have begun tracing passengers who may have traveled in the same train carriage with a man who was reported Monday to be a new suspected case of A/H1N1 flu on the mainland.

    The man, surnamed Yang, returned to China's mainland Friday from a tour of the United States and Canada, according to a notice from the Ministry of Health. Full story

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu