A Neglected Outbreak of TB Is Causing Chinese High School Students to Attempt Suicide

In Hunan Province, scores of students contracted pulmonary tuberculosis as school staff turned blind eye

Senior high school students studying at night to prepare for the college entrance exams at a high school in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province, on May 24, 2016. STR/AFP/Getty Images

A string of tuberculosis cases at a high school in Hunan Province, southern China, has led to harsh criticism of the school administration and the local authorities following the attempted suicides of three students suffering from the disease.

Just a few days before a female student’s suicide attempt on Sept. 9, a lawyer representing the victims of the outbreak received threats from the legal authorities that they would revoke his license to practice.