Chinese medicine kills one child, makes 151 sick

Herbal medicine prescribed to primary schoolchildren in southwest China to ward off chickenpox killed one and made 151 sick, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

The accident happened in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, on Wednesday when more than 200 children took a homemade herbal concoction, Xinhua said.

About 150 children suffered diarrhea, nausea and vomiting after taking the medicine, a mixture of some 15 types of traditional herbs, it said.

"The investigation team ... confirmed that each ingredient of the recipe was safe and measured up to the state’s medical standards,” Xinhua said, blaming the ill effects on a reaction to a faulty combination of the herbs.

The 151 children had all recovered and left hospital by Monday.

Print Version
Tell-a-Friend