Ninety-four children succumb to hand, foot and mouth disease in China
China, Apr 16, 2010
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is spreading quickly in China this year, and has so far killed at least 94 people as of Sunday (April 11), Xinhua news agency reported the Ministry of Health saying on Wednesday (April 14). Between January 1 and April 11, over 192,300 HFMD cases, including 2,119 serious cases, have been reported in China, Deng Haihua, the ministry spokesman told Xinhua. An estimated 80 percent of the HFMD cases have been in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Henan, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan and Shandong, with fatalities reported in 18 provinces, Deng told the media. In March alone, the ministry reported 77,756 cases of HFMD, prompting authorities to heighten efforts to control the transmission of the disease. The Associated Press (AP) reported Vice-Premier Li Keqiang calling for increased efforts into researching vaccines and drugs for HFMD. However, in Beijing, where 582 HFMD cases were reported in the last week, which is a 36.6 percent increase from the week before last, health authorities are telling the public not to panic. Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Health highlighted the fact that 2,250 cases were reported this year in Beijing, which is a decrease of 15.5 percent from the same period last year, Xinhua reported. Ma Yanming, deputy director of the bureau, was quoted by Xinhua on Thursday (April 15) as saying, "When we say there is no need to panic, it does not mean we should not be cautious. HFMD is now approaching its peak infection rate, which we predict will be between May and July." On Tuesday (April 13), the ministry announced that they had started training for medical workers in new HFMD diagnosis and treatment methods. According to the ministry, clinical doctors, nurses, public health workers and health educators throughout the country were scheduled to receive training that took advanced international diagnostic methods and gave equal stress on Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Meanwhile, also on Tuesday, Beijing's health bureau announced their launch of a "2010 Beijing HFMD monitoring program" to tighten prevention against the disease, Xinhua said. According to the program, if a serious case or one that results in death appears in any class, or two cases occur within one week in a single class, the school has been directed to suspend classes for at least 10 days. HFMD is a common, highly contagious illness that mainly targets children younger than the age of 10. The illness usually begins with a slight fever, followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. Because the disease is spread through contact with saliva or fecal matter, good personal hygiene, including washing hands often, is strongly recommended to protect oneself from the disease.
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