A swimming club in China's northeastern city of Harbin has admitted hygiene issues at its pool caused more than 200 children to contract infections after attending swimming classes, a Beijing Times report said.

Eight children noticed their teeth, mouths and tongues turning black after swimming at a swimming pool in Tai'an city in east China's Shandong Province. [Photo: qlwb.com.cn]

According to the report, a total of 225 children have been diagnosed with virus infections, and exhibited symptoms such as a persistently high fever, cough and inflamed eyes, with some of the children developing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and pneumonia.

The swimming pool of the club is currently closed and the club held a meeting with the parents on Wednesday. During the meeting, the club admitted the children's infections were caused by its swimming pool and also committed to compensate their treatment costs.

The report also revealed that the swimming club's hygienic license had expired two months previous.

The health authority of Harbin said the city's disease center had obtained a water sample from the swimming pool and an investigation is underway.

Several parents said their children were pretty healthy before, but after taking the swimming class, they suddenly became sick.

A parent with the surname Chen said she sent her son to the hospital after he came down with a fever of more than 41 degrees Celsius. At the hospital she discovered that many children who had taken the same swimming class had been hospitalized. "Then, we realized that it might be the problem of the swimming club," she added.

The youngest child among the infected swimming club students is only six years old. The child's father said, "On August 8, my son went to the swimming class for the first time. After attending the class on five occasions, he developed a sudden fever and cough." The hospital found the boy had various infections including herpangina and EBV.

It is not the first case of children becoming sick after attending swimming classes.

On Tuesday, eight children noticed their teeth, mouths and tongues turning black after swimming at a swimming pool in Tai'an city in east China's Shandong Province. A day later, three were confirmed to have fungal infections.

Parents of the children suspected the poor quality of the water in the swimming pool might have resulted in the infections. However, the manager of the swimming pool denied the pool was the cause and said the swimming pool was regularly purified and sterilized and adhered to the relevant standards.

The local health authority is currently investigating, with a preliminary investigation showing the water quality of the swimming pool meets the national standards.

The issue of children's safety always attracts much public attention here in China.

Another case related to children's safety earlier this year also hit the headlines in the country.

Students from a primary school in Beijing experienced nosebleeds, dizziness and nausea, with parents suspecting the newly renovated running track may be the cause of the symptoms.

Many parents then called for an investigation into the possible causes of their children's symptoms, with some asking the school to remove the track.

After an investigation by the education committee of Beijing's Xicheng District, Xinhua reported tests showed excessive amounts of benzene substances and formaldehyde.

As a result of the findings, the renovated running track was removed from the school's playground to guarantee the safety of the school children and it was announced all synthetic school running tracks and sports fields in the capital were to be tested.

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