Chinese toddler excreting nails suspected to be victim of abus

NEW DELHI - A Chinese girl, who has been excreting nails for the past month, is believed to have been a victim of abuse, revealed doctors who were taking care of her.

The 18-month-old infant excreted a final nail on June 18 and a subsequent X-ray showed no more nails in her body, revealed Shen Zhijun, a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Yulin city, in Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, the Xinhua reported.

The girl excreted more than 20 nails and five steel pins over the past six weeks, but showed no sign of an ailment and ate and drank as usual, and it continued even though she was confined to her hospital bed since early May.

“This convinced us the nails had not been accidentally swallowed,” said hospital president He Bo.

X-rays found new nails in the little tot’s stomach after every excretion, he said.

“Starting on June 12, we put her under strict isolation and banned even her parents from entering her ward,” Dr. Shen said.

“Now for the first time in a month, no nail was found in her stomach and the girl appears perfectly healthy,” he stated.

Shen said he suspected it was a case of intentional injury and had advised hospital authorities to report it to police.

Police in Yulin city said they had been closely following media reports of the girl’s case and were ready to launch an investigation if there were evidence of abuse.

The little girl’s case has aroused widespread attention from the media and health experts.

The case has been discussed widely on the Internet, where many people suspected it was a case of child abuse. Some also speculated the abuse was a result of China’s deep-rooted preference for male offspring. (ANI)