China reports 537 deaths from hand-foot-mouth disease this year (Xinhua, edited): 15,501 were in critical condition

[Giuseppe]

China reports 537 deaths from hand-foot-mouth disease this year (Xinhua, edited)

[Source: Xinhua, <cite cite="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-06/24/c_13367598.htm">China reports 537 deaths from hand-foot-mouth disease this year</cite>. Edited.]

China reports 537 deaths from hand-foot-mouth disease this year

English.news.cn 2010-06-24 19:00:54
BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua)


Almost 1 million people in China had been infected with hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) this year by Tuesday, and 537 had died while 15,501 were in critical condition, China's Health Ministry announced Thursday.

With HFMD in its peak season, May to July, the work of HFMD control and prevention was arduous and the ministry would continue to intensify monitoring of and precautions against the disease, said a statement from the ministry.

The ministry would also strengthen the treatment of patients and the training of grassroots medical staff in rural areas, it said.

Wang Zijun, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said HFDM was a common infectious disease, and was particularly infectious to children.

People infected with HFMD usually had minor symptoms, but in serious cases the disease could lead to complications such as encephalitis and pneumonia, he said.

People could be infected through close contact with excreta and respiratory secretions, among other ways, he said.

Editor: Wang Guanqun
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[Shiloh]

Re: China reports 537 deaths from hand-foot-mouth disease this year (Xinhua, edited): 15,501 were in critical condition

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-06/25/c_13369085.htm

Spreading disease batters China's rural areas
English.news.cn 2010-06-25 14:19:04

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhaunet) -- Nearly 71 percent of China's fatal hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) cases were reported in rural areas, giving a clear sign of the huge rural-urban medical gap, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

The ministry vowed to further enhance medical responses, particularly in vast countryside areas, to curb the raging epidemic.

As of June 22, the common viral epidemic among children has sickened nearly 987,779 on the Chinese mainland. Of that total, 537 died. The majority of those who have gotten ill are younger than 3, said Wang Zijun, deputy director of the emergency response office under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a press conference.

The epidemic control situation is grave in the country as the number of deaths caused by the disease stood at only 186 in the same period last year, Wang said.

"Rural doctors, who are less experienced than their urban counterparts in treating the infection, are finding it difficult to make timely diagnoses of the infection, with no lab screening capacity at grassroots-level facilities," said Lu Lianhe, veteran infectious disease doctor of the Beijing Ditan Hospital.

A late diagnosis might delay the effective treatment for the disease, which, in rare cases, can cause deadly complications like encephalitis, he said.

Usually, the infected person recovers without medication in seven to 10 days, experts said.