Enterovirus 71 outbreaks surface in China's special administrative regions
China, May 28, 2010
The People's Republic of China's two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, have recently reported outbreaks of Enterovirus 71 (EV71), including some cases with severe complications, Xinhua news agency reported. EV71 is a viral infection that is usually found among young children, causing the common illness of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), and sometimes can prompt more severe complications. Additionally, the viral infection often times occurs in small epidemics in nursery schools or kindergartens, usually during the summer and fall months. In Macao, at least 15 children at a local creche, a hospital for orphaned infants, have been confirmed by Macao's Health Bureau as being infected with EV71, including the most recent infection reported on Monday (May 24), Xinhua said. The collective outbreak, which has affected 15 children from the same local creche, began recording such cases on May 20, Xinhua reported the Bureau as saying. But, all the young patients have been attended to and have received necessary treatments at medical institutions. Meanwhile, on Thursday (May 27), the Center for Health Protection of Hong Kong ordered the closing of a school for two weeks after one of its students became ill with EV71 with severe complications. According to Xinhua, a 10-year-old came down with a fever on May 20 and was admitted to the intensive care unit at a hospital on Sunday (May 23). Following treatment, the young girl was moved to a general ward and is now in stable condition. St Francis of Assisi's English Primary School is temporarily closed after eight cases of HFMD were confirmed, including the 10-year-old girl. Since the beginning of the year, Hong Kong has registered EV71 cases, which is more than the same period last year, Xinhua reported Dr S K Chuang, the Center's Consultant in Community Medicine as saying. Also, Dr Chuang noted the Center's surveillance data revealing a continuous rise in the number of HFMD infections since mid-March of this year. In response, surveillance systems for HFMD and EV71 infections, including outbreak notification, sentinel clinics and laboratory surveillance have been put into place, Chuang said. The outbreak also prompted an interdepartmental meeting on Thursday to review HFMD and the EV71 situation in the region. Outcomes of the meeting included health, education and hospital authorities agreeing to keep the current criteria on class suspension of childcare institutions and schools having EV71 infections, and letters on preventive measures will again be sent to childcare centers and schools, Xinhua reported.
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