City hospitals check four infants amid dairy scare; Hu lashes cadres
A three-year-old girl has become the first known victim in Hong Kong of the adulterated-milk scandal that has killed four babies on the mainland and made thousands ill. She is one of four young children referred to hospital specialists with suspected renal problems related to the tainted milk.
The girl was discovered to have a kidney stone in a check-up on Friday. She had been fed Yili Dairy high- calcium low-fat milk beverage, one of several milk products exported to Hong Kong that have been found to contain the industrial chemical melamine.
Health officials warned last week that drinking the beverage could be harmful to children.
The news came as the nation's top leaders promised all-out efforts to ensure food safety and criticised officials' slow response to emergencies. Vice-Premier Li Keqiang became the first top leader to meet families hit by the scandal, visiting children who are in hospital in Hebei after drinking adulterated milk.
The Centre for Health Protection said the Hong Kong girl, who lives in Hung Hom, was found to have a stone in her left kidney on Friday. While she did not show any symptoms, she received treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday. The girl's condition was mild and she was discharged pending further tests.
Three other cases have been referred to the hospital. No information about them has been released.
Former Medical Association president Choi Kin warned that it was highly likely more cases would be found.
The centre said the girl had drunk two to three 170ml cups of the milk a day for the past 15 months. On Thursday, it said children who drank two glasses or more of the milk a day risked consuming more than the tolerable level of melamine.
All Yili products have been recalled from city stores after nine of its lines tested positive for melamine.
The centre said it had reminded all doctors to report for further investigation any cases of renal disease in children they suspect relate to drinking melamine-adulterated products.
Mr Li's visit to Hebei came as Premier Wen Jiabao warned at a Communist Party meeting that people's lives and health should not be compromised for the development of enterprises and economic growth.
Earlier, President Hu Jintao sharply criticised officials for being apathetic to problems that threaten lives, apparently referring to a mudslide in Xiangfen county in Shanxi province and the milk scandal. The official death toll from the mudslide is 262. The party yesterday sacked two local officials and suspended a third over the mudslide.
Speaking at a party seminar on Friday, Mr Hu urged officials to draw the 'painful lessons' from a series of work and food safety incidents that 'have caused major harm to life and the well-being of the masses'.
'These incidents show that some officials have lost a sense of principles, of the public interest, of responsibilities, of attention to people's sufferings,' he said.
Since the melamine scandal broke 11 days ago, it has been found in baby formula from 22 of 109 producers and in other dairy products.
For advice about milk products, call the Centre for Health Protection's hotline 2125 1133.