It was reported by Beijing's municipal health authority Sunday that 22 city diners who fell ill after eating snails contaminated with parasites have been discharged from hospital after recovering.

The Chinese capital reported 131 people had become unwell after eating the snails with 25 seriously ill since June 24, said the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau. No deaths had been reported, it said.

Examinations of 85 of the 131 patients show that 76 were aged between 20 and 40, two were under 13 and seven aged 50 to 57. All of them had eaten raw or under-cooked Amazonian snails before being hospitalized, the health bureau said.

Earlier reports said 87 "snail" patients who'd eaten the under-cooked or raw snails in outlets of the city's Shuguo Yanyi Restaurant were diagnosed with a type of disease caused by parasites that can affect the brain and spinal cord and lead to meningitis. The bureau didn't explain where the new cases had contracted the disease from.

The Shuguo Yanyi Restaurant was ordered to stop selling the snail dishes on August 8. It made an official apology to customers on August 23. The restaurant's chief administrative official, surnamed Yue, said Shuguo Yanyi would pay the medical costs of all the patients who ate the snails in the restaurant.

By last Wednesday two patients, who were hospitalized after eating the snails in the restaurant, had received compensation of 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) and 25,667.09 yuan (US$3,200).

"From now on Beijing will ban the sale of raw or half-cooked snails reared in fresh water," said Jin Dapeng, director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2006)