Preschool fed pupils antiviral drugs
Print Edition
A PRESCHOOL in northwest China suspected of sickening hundreds of children by feeding them cold medicine over two years has been ordered to shut, and its principal, legal representative and a doctor are in police custody.
Parents of the 690 children at the Fengyun kindergarten in Xi’an said their children complained of constipation, stomach aches, leg pain and loss of appetite, conditions believed to have been the side effects of antiviral moroxydine tablets.
The Xi’an government said the children will be receiving free medical care.
Earlier this week, dozens of parents blocked a road in front of the kindergarten demanding an explanation.
They were anxious to know how large a dose the children were given and for how long, as well as the possible harmful side effects and need for followup physical examinations.
The Xi’an government has submitted the medicine for further testing and ordered medical experts to conduct an analysis and assessment of the drug’s effects.
“Even when she was in the lowest class years, teachers started giving them the medicine two or three times weekly with a tablet each morning and evening,” said a mother surnamed Wang, who has a 5-year-old daughter at the kindergarten.
Her daughter had symptoms of dizziness and leg pain.
Another mother surnamed Zhang said her 6-year-old daughter complained of feeling dizzy and having leg pain and stomachaches.
Sun Xuehong, the kindergarten’s legal representative, told local newspaper Chinese Business View that the children were given the medicine when bird flu was sweeping the nation in 2012. “I didn’t know the doctor was still prescribing the medicine,” she said.
Gao Yiming, 7, who left the kindergarten last year, suffered from stomach pains throughout his five years there and had developed kidney problems, Xinmin Weekly magazine reported. “Doctors couldn’t find the cause. I discovered the kindergarten’s secret when my son told me he always took white tablets,” his mother Li Na said.
A 41-year-old father surnamed Wang said he thought his 5-year-old son had been lying about stomachaches and itchy skin.
The mother of a 5-year-old discovered what was going on when the girl told her: “Mom, I will never catch cold. Teachers ask us to take medicines every day.” The mother, surnamed Cheng, found the classmates had been taking the tablets since last year.
Some parents suspected that the kindergarten was at pains to have children attend classes every day to avoid having to pay refunds if they were absent.
Other parents suspected the children were guinea pigs in a drug testing scheme.
“No matter whether they were healthy or not, they had to take the medicine. If they were absent, the kindergarten was very concerned about their illness and their symptoms,” Wang said.
Zhao Baoying, the principal, told the magazine the tablets were bought from pharmacies. But an investigation by Xi’an officials revealed that a recent purchase of 10,000 tablets was from a local drug wholesaler.
Zhao admitted it was a mistake to give children medicine without informing their parents.
The doctor involved, Huang Linxia, was not licensed to prescribe the medicine, China Business View reported.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
