IASI, Romania, Dec 5 (AFP) - Four Romanian nurses have been fired for stealing food from children in their charge suffering from AIDS, the country's child protection service announced on Wednesday in a report.

The regular thefts apparently left the already seriously ill children suffering from malnutrition, the CPS added.

The four nurses had also ill-treated the children, the report said.

Regional CPE head Pintilie Penciuc explained that 58 children aged between four and 14 lived in the medical centre where the thefts took place.

He added that his department was considering whether to call for criminal charges to be brought against the sacked nurses.

Romania currently accounts for around half the total number of childhood AIDS cases recorded in Europe.

In all, the country has registered 5,629 children under 14 who have contracted the disease.

Of that total, 2,128 have died.

011205
AF011276

Copyright © AFP or Agence France-Presse, 2001 - All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission..  http://www.afp.com/

ÆGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

©1990, 2001 - ÆGiS. ÆGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on ÆGIS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of ÆGIS and the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, or the party credited as the provider of the content.