Japanese child in China develops kidney stones, melamine suspected

BEIJING, Oct. 18 Kyodo -
A Japanese toddler residing in China's Shandong Province has developed kidney
stones after drinking powdered milk apparently tainted with the industrial
chemical melamine, a Japanese Embassy official said Saturday.
The official said the boy, now aged around 2, was fed since birth on milk
formula made by a Chinese milk product maker at the center of China's melamine
scandal, Hebei-based Sanlu Group.
After the milk contamination became public knowledge earlier this year, the
boy's parents took him to be tested at a free clinic set up by a Chinese
medical organization, where he tested positive for kidney stones.
At present, however, the boy is neither hospitalized nor is he in serious
condition.
It marks the first publicly known case of a Japanese child having been affected
by melamine-tainted milk.
Melamine was added to diluted milk to falsely boost protein readings, sickening
more than 50,000 young children, among which at least four have died.
The toxic chemical has been found in milk formula made by more than 20
manufacturers in China, but the melamine content in that made by the Sanlu
Group is especially high, accounting for a disproportionate share of victims.
==Kyodo