A 9-year-old boy who suffered a suspicious case of pneumonia in a bird-flu area in Hunan Province has been discharged from the hospital, but there's still no final word on the cause of his illness.

The child, whose 12-year-old sister died after showing the same symptoms, was released on Saturday from the Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital after 25 days of treatment and quarantine.

While the boy is "completely cured," experts could not rule out that the H5N1 virus was the cause of his sickness, and China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting more blood tests.

His sister died on October 17 after developing a high fever. Both lived in Wantang, a village in Hunan where 545 chickens and ducks died of bird flu. A 36-year-old teacher from the same village also fell ill but is said to be recovering.

The boy was experiencing serious lung problems when he came to the hospital. His condition began to improve three days later.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is carrying out additional tests on the boy's blood samples, according to hospital doctors.

A team of experts from the World Health Organization will soon visit Hunan to work with Chinese doctors to probe China's three possible human cases of bird flu.

In Liaoning Province's bird flu-stricken Heishan County, no new cases have been reported for the past two days. In Beining City, where avian flu also was confirmed, no new cases have been reported for four days. In the Nanzhan New District of Jinzhou, no new cases have been reported since November 6. In New Mongolia Autonomous County of Fuxin City, no new cases have been reported since Tuesday.

The provincial government has allocated 15.5 million yuan (US$1.9 million) to compensate farmers for the poultry culling that led to the slaughter of millions of chickens. A total 265.8 million yuan has been put into epidemic prevention in the province.

Under the compensation plan, farmers are given 10 yuan for each chicken and duck slaughtered, 15 yuan for geese and 5 yuan for every young fowl.

A provincial spokesman said hospitals in bird flu-hit areas in Liaoning have been ordered to accept flu patients regardless of medical charges, which will be paid later by the province.

Meanwhile, the Xianghai National Nature Reserve, a major habitat for migratory birds in northeast China's Jilin Province, has shut down all scenic spots as a health precaution.

"It's necessary to close the nature reserve to reduce contact between humans and birds," said Bao Jun, Xianghai's deputy director.

Xianghai, home to 253 types of rare birds, lies along global migratory routes, which increases the province's risk of a bird-flu outbreak.