Ninety-seven primary school students in north China's Hebei Province have fallen ill in a suspected food poisoning case, local government sources said on Thursday.

The students in Yulong Bilingual Primary School in Dingzhou City started to show symptoms of fever and vomiting on June 29.

Eight of all nine hospitalized have been discharged from hospital by Thursday night.

Local health authorities have ruled out initially the possibility of A/H1N1 flu virus infection. Further investigation is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2009)