A 3-year-old Hong Kong girl has been diagnosed with a small kidney stone after drinking mainland-produced milk containing melamine but is in good condition and does not require surgery, a hospital official said yesterday.
It is the first case reported outside the Chinese mainland in a scandal involving melamine-contaminated dairy products, which have killed four children and caused more than 6,200 others to fall ill.
The girl showed no symptoms of kidney disease, so she was discharged from the hospital without surgery or medication, a spokeswoman for Princess Margaret Hospital, who only gave her surname, Ma, in line with hospital policy, said.
Some kidney stones pass naturally, and doctors will monitor the girl's condition, Ma said.
The girl had been drinking two or three cups of low-fat milk made by the Chinese mainland dairy firm Yili Industrial Group Co every day for the past 15 months, the government said in a statement.
Hong Kong's Cable TV reported several parents took their children for hospital checkups yesterday after news of the sick girl spread.
Mainland authorities have recalled milk and dairy products from 22 Chinese companies after samples were found to contain melamine.
The Hong Kong government and individual retailers and dairy companies have tested local inventories and issued recalls in the special administrative region, after the news broke out.
(Agencies via China Daily, September 22, 2008)