Tuberculosis Outbreak Infects Dozens at Chinese College

A student (L) has her temperature checked before entering a school to sit the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), known as Gaokao, in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu Province on July 7, 2020. Nearly 11 million stressed-out Chinese students took the country's grueling annual college entrance exam following a month-long coronavirus delay, with inspectors this year checking both for cheaters and fevers. STR/AFP via Getty Images

While the COVID-19 pandemic is still ravaging the world, a series of tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks at a major Chinese university was revealed via social media posts and local media reports. The Epoch Times has also interviewed a few students and obtained internal government documents that indicate local authorities attempted to cover up the TB epidemic.

Tuberculosis is a respiratory infectious disease that usually causes lung infection. Those with latent TB infection don’t have symptoms. Without proper treatment in time, 10 percent of patients with latent infection will progress to active TB, with a fatality rate of 50 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Jiangsu Normal University Conceals TB Cases

Jiangsu Normal University issued a notice on the evening of Oct. 14, stating that from Oct. 10 to 11, 43 students were isolated for medical observation after their CT scans showed abnormality in their chests. On Oct. 12, 22 students tested positive for TB and took a leave of absence from school. The notice also said that since August 2019, students have contracted TB and showed signs of infection, but it did not specify the number of students infected.