# 1964
In what has been truly a strange case, Corporal Cho, who made the news back on April 21st, has - after 19 days of quarantine and tests - been declared not to have H5N1.
This is how Yonhap news reported the initial story. The last paragraph appears to suggest Cho tested positive for H5N1 in primary and secondary testing.
Soldier suspected of contracting bird flu
SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- A soldier who showed symptoms of avian influenza is being treated a military hospital, authorities said Monday.
<snip>
Cho showed symptoms of AI infection in the primary and secondary tests but a definite conclusion will be made after the results of a serum and virus cultivation test are made known three weeks later, according to military authorities.
Over the next few days, RoK authorities would proffer alternative theories, including seasonal flu and bacterial pneumonia. Corporal Cho was declared `fully cured' on April 25th, according to this report from Yonhap News.
혻 혻 SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean soldier who may have been infected with the bird flu virus has been declared "fully cured" by doctors, health authorities said Friday.
The soldier, who has been placed under quarantine since Sunday, has responded well to antibiotics and antiviral drugs, with his white cell count back to normal, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
Notice, the presumption in this report was that the solider had bird flu. Despite his`cure', Cho remained in quarantine another 15 days. A safety precaution, apparently, until antibody tests could be performed on the Corporal.
Now South Korea has released a statement saying the soldier was not infected with bird flu, and will be released from the hospital. No explanations have been offered about the two initial positive tests reported by the media.
South Korea says soldier not infected with bird flu
Thu May 8, 2008 9:14pm EDT
SEOUL, May 9 (Reuters) - A South Korean soldier tested for bird flu did not contract the deadly virus and will be released from hospital, according to a statement obtained on Friday.
"The soldier, who was quarantined after showing symptoms of bird flu, has tested negative. We have determined his condition was caused by bacterial pneumonia," the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release.
The soldier, 21, who was hospitalised last month, had been taking part in the culling of more than 5 million birds as South Korea works to contain its worst outbreak of avian influenza.
