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Chinese school closes after unknown virus kills student
Chinese school closes after unknown virus kills student <!--Thursday, April 13, 2006-->
Web posted at: 4/13/2006 2:23:40
Source ::: AFP
BEIJING: A high school in northern China has been shut down after an unidentified virus killed one student and left dozens of others hospitalised with high fevers, state press reported yesterday.
Medical officials have determined that the outbreak in Shaanxi province is not bird flu but are still trying to identify the virus, the Beijing Times reported. The virus was first detected after 19 of the students from Qishan county came down with high fever late last month.
One of the students from Yidian High School died after being sent to the provincial capital of Xian for treatment and, by Monday this week, a total of 30 students had been hospitalized with high fevers, the report said. Most of the fevers registered over 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit), it added.
?At the moment we have ruled out the possibility of atypical pneumonia and the bird flu, but the transmission of this disease is getting stronger and the exact cause and source of the disease has not been confirmed,? one unnamed medical official was quoted as saying.
Officials at the school said the outbreak came after students had participated in a sports meeting in cold weather.