The two "snail patients" who were re-hospitalized in Beijing have not had a relapse but are suffering from "recalcitrant symptoms", said the Municipal Health Bureau at its Thursday press conference.

Responding to questions about the Beijing "snail patients" re-hospitalization incidents, the bureau said to date no resurgence of angiostrongyliasis, a disease caused by parasites that affects the brain and spinal cord which may lead to meningitis, has been reported in the capital.

A total of 132 people in Beijing contracted the disease after eating raw or undercooked snails since June 24. Most of them ate the snails at the Shuguo Yanyi Restaurant serving Sichuan-style dishes.

All of the patients were discharged from hospital before Oct. 1, but two of them, Mr. Liu and Miss Xie, were re-hospitalized in the middle of October.

Mr. Liu was initially discharged from hospital at the end of August. However, after complaining of persistent headaches and showing symptoms similar to those he had when he first contracted the disease, he was sent to the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital on Oct. 12 where he displayed meningitis symptoms, said the hospital's senior physician Chen Lin.

The doctor said Mr Liu had not eaten any snails after being discharged from hospital and insisted that -- despite the meningitis symptoms -- the patient was on the road to recovery. The patient was still being treated in hospital as of Thursday.

Miss Xie was discharged from Beijing Tongren Hospital -- for the second time -- on Oct. 19.

The 26-year-old patient said she had lost her sight three times since leaving hospital on September 6. "When my left eye was unable to see anything for more than 13 hours on September 20, I was terrified," she said.

Yu Fengchun, a doctor at the hospital where Xie is being treated, explained Xie's problem as "intermittent symptoms during the recovery process." The doctor said Xie's eyesight had not worsened since she was re-hospitalized.

Gao Xing, director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau public health emergency office, said Beijing Friendship Hospital, which admitted 81 "snail patients", had re-examined 77 of them.

Thirty-four reported no symptoms, but 19 others suffered sporadic headaches and muscle aches. A small number of patients felt numbness or skin discomfort and a few complained of worsening eyesight, the official said.

"All the symptoms are recalcitrant symptoms that occur during the recovery process," Gao said, expressing the hope that the general public will not worry unduly.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)