Pupil dies after Mantoux test, reason unknown

A 7-year-old pupil died Tuesday after being injected with medicine during a health examination in Baoding, North China's Hebei province, according to a notice by the local government and media reports.

The pupil, whose gender was not identified, experienced physical discomfort about 15 minutes after an injection with a purified protein derivative of Bacilli Calmette-Gurin, a type of medicine used for the Mantoux test, said a report by the Beijing News.

The Mantoux test or PPD test is used to screen for tuberculosis infections, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is a mandatory test for students in primary and middle schools, according to a guideline for student health examinations by the Ministry of Education and National Health Commission.

The pupil was then sent to a hospital in Quyang county and died after emergency rescue efforts, said the notice on the Quyang government website.

The notice also said the health examination started from April 20 and 7,770 students from 18 schools in the county had received the same medicine until Tuesday.

"No other students have had abnormal physical reactions," the notice said.

An accident where a student dies after the Mantoux test had never happened before nationwide, according to the notice.

To relieve parents' worries, the county started to provide a second round of physical examinations for the students to make sure they are in good health.

As of 5 pm on Wednesday, more than 250 students have undergone a second round of examinations and all of them are in good condition, the notice said.

According to a preliminary investigation, the medicine's producer and dealer are qualified registered companies. And there were no problems found with the medicine's logistics. The organization and doctors that conducted the health test are also qualified.

A further investigation is going on to find out the reason for the pupil's death.