Kindergarten probed over pill claims

Shaanxi govt clamps down on unreported medicine at schools

CHANGCHUN -?Police said on Saturday that a kindergarten in northeast China's Jilin Province is suspected of using an antiviral drug on children, which parents claimed has caused their children physical discomfort.

Investigators did not disclose the dosage suspected to have been used on children or for how long.

Some of the 700 children in the kindergarten have displayed symptoms such as leg pain, nose bleeds, itchy skin and inflammation in the genital area, according to parents.

Authorities have arranged for children with such symptoms to undergo physical examinations at a local hospital.

Police have detained kindergarten staff suspected of giving children the drug.

The antiviral drug, called moroxydine ABOB, is used to treat the flu. Earlier this week, the drug was also found to have been used on children at two kindergartens in northwest China's Shaanxi Province since 2008. Some staff at the kindergartens have been detained by local police.

Children at the two kindergartens in Shaanxi have also displayed similar symptoms. Staff at the kindergartens said they had been using the drug to help kids ward off the flu and improve attendance.

Further investigation into the case in Jilin is underway.?