Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
2008/10/20
Three children die from HFMD in southeastern China
Three children have died and 113 people have been sickened in southeastern China with hand, foot and mouth disease, state media reported today.
All of the cases emerged in early October in the city of Jianou in Fujian province, Xinhua news agency said, adding 22 people remain in hospital.
The disease, which is common in China, took an unusually high toll in the first few months of the year, infecting nearly 25,000 people nationwide and killing 34, according to government figures.
By comparison, 17 deaths were reported in 2007.
Symptoms of the highly contagious disease include fever and sores. It can result in death in children due to their less-developed immune systems.
The outbreak earlier this year prompted the government to issue a national health alert.
Cases first emerged in large numbers in eastern China in early March but the problem was not made public until about two months later.
This prompted the state press to accuse local officials of dragging their feet on raising the alarm, thereby worsening the spread of the disease. - AFP
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20081020134729/Article/index_html
Three children die from HFMD in southeastern China
Three children have died and 113 people have been sickened in southeastern China with hand, foot and mouth disease, state media reported today.
All of the cases emerged in early October in the city of Jianou in Fujian province, Xinhua news agency said, adding 22 people remain in hospital.
The disease, which is common in China, took an unusually high toll in the first few months of the year, infecting nearly 25,000 people nationwide and killing 34, according to government figures.
By comparison, 17 deaths were reported in 2007.
Symptoms of the highly contagious disease include fever and sores. It can result in death in children due to their less-developed immune systems.
The outbreak earlier this year prompted the government to issue a national health alert.
Cases first emerged in large numbers in eastern China in early March but the problem was not made public until about two months later.
This prompted the state press to accuse local officials of dragging their feet on raising the alarm, thereby worsening the spread of the disease. - AFP
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20081020134729/Article/index_html