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Beijing hospital full up with panicked parents

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-19 21:52

Melamine, a chemical normally used in plastics, was mixed illegally into the milk powder to raise its protein content.

The worst tainted formula of Sanlu Group Co. has the largest market in China with its lower price, usually one-third that of imported powdered milk.

The melamine-tainted formula has caused four infant deaths and left more than 6,000 other children sick with kidney stones.

Panicked parents took their babies to hospitals though many didn't show any symptoms of kidney disease.

Tian Xiaoyan took her eight-month-old daughter to the Beijing Children's Hospital for an ultrasound. The baby was fed a milk powder sold by the southern Guangdong-based Yashili Group Co.

The Beijing woman said she had switched to imported infant formula, but was still concerned about safety. "I really hope the government can expand the checks and testing to more overseas brands of infant formula."

Not all children were so lucky to have timely checks at the hospital. Li Zhanshan, 47, had to find another facility for his nine-month-old son. The boy, who had been diagnosed with a kidney stone measuring 0.9 cm in diameter, was turned away after being told the hospital was fully booked.

The man had traveled from Tangshan City in the northern Hebei Province. He said his son was in such a serious condition that hospitals in his hometown refused to take him.

"Whatever it takes, I'll get my son hospitalized," he said while leaving, a worried look on his face.

Beijing has two children's hospitals where the patient admissions have been on the rise. The institutions had borrowed ultrasound scanners from other hospitals.

The influx of sickened children to the city has risen as the Beijing municipal government promised free exams and treatment to all who have consumed the contaminated milk.

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