Surprise Find in Chinese Tainted Milk Case

Less than 1% of Chinese children likely to have consumed melamine-contaminated food in 2008 have suffered continued kidney damage, a new study shows.

Most of those diagnosed with kidney damage early after the tainted milk incident no longer showed any symptoms, a Chinese report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal said.

Among the 7,933 children studied, 48 or 0.6% of children studied showed earlier evidence of kidney stones, enlarged kidneys or other urinary tract abnormalities following renal ultrasounds.

Now 43 showed no symptoms, the report said.

Two children had symptoms, such as signs of kidney stones and swelling, and were hospitalised, and three had symptoms but never sought treatment, the study found.

Among the 46 affected children on which follow-up information could be gathered after six months, five still had kidney problems, the team reported, while the abnormalities were resolved in the other 41.