Three more tuberculosis cases have been reported in northeast China, bringing the total number of patients to 32, a local health official confirmed Tuesday.

 

The three infected, all students at the No. 1 Senior High School in Chaoyang city in Liaoning Province, were discovered in a school-wide screening. No information about their treatment is currently available.

 

Previous reports mentioned 29 sick students from the school. Fourteen students, eight of whom are seriously ill, are receiving free treatment at isolation wards in the city's TB prevention and treatment hospital.

 

The first student fell ill in June, and more were confirmed ill at the end of July.

 

No cases have been reported outside the campus, according to local sources, and 20 of the 32 patients are from Class three in Grade ten.

 

The school, established in 1904, is predominantly a boarding school catering to students from the rural areas. As it is a key experimental school in Liaoning, the school offers paid classes during vacations.

 

The latency period for TB is usually two months and screening is still going on.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2006)