China Reports Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Problems in Children
Posted on: Monday, 5 May 2008, 11:55 CDT
The number of children sickened with hand, foot and mouth disease in China jumped to over 9,700 cases on Monday.The Official Xinhua News Agency said that enterovirus 71, one of several viruses that cause the disease, has been blamed for at least 24 deaths in the central province of Anhui and Guangdong province in the south.
One child in Guangdong and another in Zhejiang also died of hand, foot and mouth disease but they’re not sure which strain of virus killed them.
Infections of 8,573 children had been reported in the provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Jiangsu, as well as Beijing. All children were under the age of 6 and the majority were under the age of 2, Xinhua reported.
Enterovirus 71, also known as EV-71, is believed to be the main culprit but no official numbers have been reported.
At least 1,198 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease were reported separately in Zhejiang . The province’s Health Bureau Web site reported 9 had tested positive for enterovirus 71.
The ministry asked for people to report cases to local health and education departments as soon as possible and for any sick children "to be sent immediately to health clinics".
Most of the reported cases are in Anhui province, where Fuyang, a fast-growing city, was hit the hardest with 5,151 infections, according to Xinhua.
Enterovirus causes a severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease with symptoms including fever, mouth sores and rashes with blisters. It strikes mostly children under the age of 10 and can be easily transmitted through sneezing and coughing.
However, the illness is not related to foot and mouth disease, which happens in livestock.
There is no specific cure or vaccine, but children with mild forms of the disease often recover quickly without issue.
The virus normally peaks in June and July, so World Health Organization officials expect an increase in infections as the weather warms up.
This comes as another problem for the Chinese government as unrest among Tibetans in western China has erupted over the country’s involvement in the Olympic Games to be held this summer.
The disease was not a threat to the Beijing Olympics because the disease mostly sickens young children, according to Hans Troedsson, China’s WHO representative.
Help has been sent to Anhui by the Chinese Health Ministry to coordinate treatment of the disease and prevent its spread.
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On the Net:
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (CDC)
WHO
Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports
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