Chinese H7N1 bird flu survivor gives birth to 'miracle' baby

A Chinese woman who spent five weeks in intensive care with H7N9 bird flu has given birth to a girl in what was described as a “miracle” first, state media said on Friday.

Qiu Yan, 25, was five months pregnant when she was diagnosed with the virus in April, early in China’s human outbreak of the disease.

She was in a “very serious condition” and underwent antibiotic, antiviral and hormone treatments, along with daily X-rays, during her therapy, the Global Times cited doctors as saying.

Qiu, from Zhenjiang in the eastern province of Jiangsu, is the world’s first H7N9 survivor to give birth, the paper said.

“Her lung was severely infected and she needed a respirator to breathe because she was suffering from respiratory failure,” it quoted Qiu’s doctor Sun Lizhou as saying.

Qiu was discharged from intensive care in May but stayed in hospital until she delivered the baby - a 3.3-kilogram, 50-centimetre girl - on Wednesday.