East China university reports 13 tuberculosis cases

A university in the eastern province of Jiangsu has reported 13 tuberculosis cases among its students, local authorities said Thursday. From Dec. 2 to 19, 13 students in the eastern campus of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, based in the city of Zhenjiang, were confirmed to have been infected with tuberculosis, said Lin Feng, head of the city's health bureau. Health and disease control departments of the city have made quarantine and preventive measures to cut its spread, Lin said. According to Lin, tuberculosis, a common kind of respiratory infectious disease, is easily caught in fall and winter, especially in schools and universities where many people gather. Wu Honghui, an official on disease control with the Health Department of Jiangsu, said more cases, but not a large number, may be reported, and treatment for the disease may take six to nine months.