Boy found with excessive mercury in blood, urine

A large quantity of mercury was found in the body of a 5-year-old boy in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province and the boy's father believes his son has been poisoned intentionally, people.com.cn reported.

Hospital tests have found the mercury in his blood was 200 times higher than the standard level while that in his urine was more than 10,000 times normal levels. Mercury will harm the boy's central nervous system if is not removed immediately, the boy's father, surnamed Yu, told the website. Yu has reported to the police in Kunming.

The boy was very ill and ran a fever for a week at the beginning of this year. He also had two lumps on his buttocks. His father thought it was an ordinary infection at first but found two or three silvery substances when he squeezed the lumps, the report said.

Yu took his son to the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University on February 5. An X-ray showed a large amount of metallic substances in the boy's body and a doctor diagnosed it as mercury.

A nurse told Yu that the amount of mercury in the boy's buttocks was equal to that found in 80 to 100 thermometers.

Yu has taken the boy to both Guangzhou and Beijing for treatment. The boy lost weight quickly, from 18 kilograms to 15 kilograms, around March 17 when they sought treatment at People's Liberation Army No. 307 Hospital in Beijing, according to the report.

Yu told the website his son had excessive mercury in his excrement about 18 months ago. The boy told his father that kids in his class had fed it to him, the website said. Yu said he believes someone has intentionally poisoned his son.