Hunan confronts tuberculosis outbreak in school

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At least 29 students have been diagnosed with tuberculosis as of Thursday in central China's Hunan Province, provincial health and family planning commission officials announced on Friday.

The outbreak has drawn public attention.

The authorities said five other students in Taojiang No.4 Middle School in Taojiang County are suspected of having been infected.

So far, 38 students have resorted to prophylactic medication, and 72 have received treatment, according to the commission.

The outbreak occurred at Hunan Taojiang No.4 Middle School, prompting the Taojiang county government to take emergency measures. /China.com Photo

On Friday afternoon, staff with the National Health and Family Planning Commission arrived in Taojiang to help deal with the outbreak.

According to the local government, the school has about 3,000 students. Of the infected ones, 25 are in the same class. All infected students are those expected to sit the national college exam soon.

Zeng Shengda, with Taojiang's disease control and prevention center, said that the first infection occurred in January. Between February and July, another five students came to the center for examination and treatment. On August 6 and 8, three more students sought treatment at the center.

"The patients that came before July did not reveal they were students," Zeng said.

In August, the county government launched screening for all the students in the school.

The provincial and county authorities are still investigating the cause of the outbreak.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency