VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - Eight children were hospitalized with skin eruptions and high fevers after playing with ampules of smallpox vaccine that they found at a garbage dump, officials said Monday.

Dmitry Maslov, a public health official in Russia's Far East, said the children, ages 11 to 14, were not seriously ill. There was no risk of the children catching smallpox, he said, and they should be able to go home within a few days.

The children found glass ampules containing expired smallpox vaccine at a garbage dump in Vladivostok, Maslov said. They mixed the powder from the ampules and sprinkled each other with the mixture, he said.

Maslov said the children were suffering fever and discomfort associated with smallpox vaccinations.

Police said the ampules were found near a public health station. They surmised that staff at the facility had not followed proper procedure and disposed of the ampules at a special medical waste dump.