Hand, foot and mouth disease
By
Contagious hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) had led to 28 deaths in China as of Wednesday morning, according to Xinhua’s tally based on confirmed death reports from provincial-level health bureaus.
The central province of Hunan and southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region reported their first and only HFMD death on Wednesday, after health minister Chen Zhu put the national death toll at 26 on Tuesday.
In Hunan, a two-year-old girl in Shahe Village, Changde City died at 5:20 a.m. on Tuesday, despite medical treatment. She had tested positive for enterovirus 71 (EV71), the most deadly strain of the virus family that has been linked to fatal HFMD cases in China.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness that spreads through contact with saliva, feces, fluid secreted from blisters or mucus from the nose and throat. There is no vaccine or specific treatment, but most children typically recover quickly. It is unrelated to the foot and mouth disease that affects livestock.
Both Mao and WHO China representative Hans Troedsson said they expected more cases of hand, foot and mouth because of the tighter reporting requirements and because the disease will likely peak in June and July.
Last year, some 80,000 hand, foot and mouth cases were recorded in China, with 17 deaths, Mao said, adding that the figures were likely incomplete.
Troedsson said there are outbreaks caused by variations of EV-71 in China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, where there have been a total of 10,490 cases in 2008.
“We need to put it in the right perspective,” Troedsson said. “This is something that regularly happens in countries in this region.”