Lead poisoning leaves 45 children sick in China
By IANSTuesday, March 23, 2010
BEIJING - At least 45 children fell ill due to lead poisoning in China’s Hunan province, officials said.
Most of the children were under the age of 14, public health bureau officials in Hunan province said Monday.
The cases were confirmed at two hospitals in Chenzhou where 28 children were undergoing treatment. Another 17 children were diagnosed with lesser level of lead poisoning.
Though most of the patients were in a stable condition, there could be more reports of affected children in the following days, Xinhua news agency quoted Liu Jianrong, deputy head of Chenzhou’s Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as saying.
In July last year, 254 children were found with excessive levels of lead in their blood in Jiahe county of Chenzhou.
Excessive amounts of lead in the body can harm the nervous and reproductive systems and can lead to high blood pressure and anaemia. In severe cases, it can cause convulsions, coma and even death.
