Hundreds of parents gathered at a kindergarten in northwest China's Gansu Province on Tuesday morning demanding to know if their children have been given antiviral drugs.
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Nie Aiqin, president of Litian kindergarten in the Qilihe District of Lanzhou City, admitted that the kindergarten gave children the antiviral Ribavirin twice after a child was found to have hand-foot-mouth disease in October 2013.
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The private kindergarten has more than 270 students. Parents were furious when a teacher exposed the matter on Monday during an online discussion between the parents and teachers.
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Some parents complain that their children have had skin rashes and leg pains which they fear could be the side effects of the drug use.
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Bai Jing, mother of a five-year-old, said that her child had complained of itching and leg pain in recent months. Another mother Wang Bing said that since the second half of last year, her child had a red rash on the arms, legs and back.
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Nie said the kindergarten bought 50 boxes of Ribavirin last October. The children were given the drug twice, each time for three days.
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The parents are suspicious of the president's statement about the type and dosage of the drug. They are demanding a government investigation into this case to prevent such incidents occurring again. The kindergarten's purchase and use of the drug without a prescription is illegal.
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Wei Lihong, deputy head of the district, said the city and district governments have formed a group to look into the case and those responsible will be punished.
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Over the past few days, kindergartens in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, northeastern Jilin and central Hubei provinces have admitted giving children antiviral drugs.Â