Toddler virus hits China again - HFM

[Treyfish]

Toddler virus hits China again
<!-- ASX and NZX data from IRESS --><!-- Article --><?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = EXSL /><EXSL:STRING xmlns:exsl="http://exslt.org/common">Oct 20, 2008 12:55 PM</EXSL:STRING>

Three children have died in eastern China from hand, foot and mouth disease in the country's second outbreak of the potent toddler virus this year, state media reported.

Health officials warned that the disease was epidemic in some parts of the coastal Fujian province, with 113 cases reported since the start of October, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The three victims were all less than one year old and from the same place, Jian'ou City, it added.

A flare-up of the virus in southern China killed at least 42 people in April and May, and 27,500 further cases, largely affecting toddlers, were reported.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness, but the outbreaks in China have been linked with enterovirus 71 (EV71), which can cause a severe form of the disease characterised by high fever, paralysis and meningitis.

There is no vaccine for the disease and normally, patients recover within a week to 10 days.
Enteroviruses spread mostly through contact with infected blisters or faeces.:tiphat:http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2216659

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Toddler virus hits China again - HFM

HAND, FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE - ASIA (26): CHINA (FUJIAN)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Mon 20 Oct 2008
Source: Reuters AlertNet [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK261074.htm>


Three children have died in eastern China from hand, foot and mouth
disease in the country's 2nd outbreak of the potent toddler virus
this year [2008], state media reported on Monday [20 Oct 2008].

Health officials warned that the disease was epidemic in some parts
of the coastal Fujian province, with 113 cases reported since the
start of October 2008, the official Xinhua news agency stated. The 3
victims were all less than one year old and from the same place,
Jian'ou City, it added. A flare-up of the virus [infection] in
southern China killed at least 42 people in April and May 2008, and
27 500 further cases, largely affecting toddlers, were reported.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness, but the
outbreaks in China have been linked with enterovirus 71 (EV71), which
can cause a severe form of the disease characterised by high fever,
paralysis and meningitis.

There is no vaccine for the disease, and, normally, patients recover
within a week to 10 days. Enteroviruses spread mostly through contact
with infected blisters or feces.

[Byline: Simon Rabinovitch and Valerie Lee]

--
Communicator by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[A map of the provinces of China is available at:
<http://www.muztagh.com/map-of-china/index.html>;
the coastal province of Fujian lies in the latitude of Taiwan. The
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of China is available at
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=36.5,103.9,4>,
and the interior city of Jianou can be located via
<http://www.maplandia.com/china/fujian/jianou/>.

In the most recent ProMED-mail report concerning hand, foot and mouth
disease (HFMD) in China, dated 25 Jul 2008 (see archive report
below), it was indicated that the outbreak which had moved from
southern and central China further north was in decline. Today's
report from Fujian province suggests that there has been a resurgence
of HFMD accompanied by an appreciable number of fatalities.
Enterovirus 71 has been identified as the etiologic agent, the virus
responsible for the Asia-wide outbreak of HFMD during the past year. - Mod.CP]

[It should be noted that 2008 is the 1st year in which reporting of
HFMD is mandatory, hence, while the numbers of reported cases may
appear to be exceptionally large, there are no official reports from
earlier years to make comparisons. In a newswire posted on PRO/MBDS
in June 2008 there was mention of an estimated 176 000 cases of HFMD
reported in China during the period January through Mid-May
2008. The estimated number of fatalities nationwide was not provided
in that newswire. (see PRO/MBDS posting Hand, foot & mouth disease -
China (11) 20080611.1844, available at <http://www.promedmail.org>).
- Mod.MPP]:tiphat:http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,74452

 

[Commonground]

Re: Toddler virus hits China again - HFM

Child virus kills three, sickens 110 in eastern China

AP
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:30 am

BEIJING ?? Hand, foot and mouth disease has killed three children and sickened about 110 others in eastern China, state media reported.
The official Xinhua News Agency said late Sunday that all the cases were reported in Jian?ou city of Fujian province from October 1 to 17.

Citing a provincial health official, Xinhua said the children who died from the infectious disease were under a year old and came from different towns.

Twenty-two of the infected children were still hospitalized for treatment, the report said.

Xinhua says the provincial government has sent eight epidemic prevention experts to the city to help local medical staff conduct citywide checks on children.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is common in young children and is characterized by fever, mouth sores and a rash with blisters.

It is spread by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected persons. It is not related to foot and mouth disease, which infects cattle, sheep and swine.

In spring, the spread of the virus sickened more than 24,000 people and killed dozens across China before authorities reported a slowdown in infections in May in Anhui, the province where the outbreak was first reported.

Anhui was the worst-hit province with 26 deaths, and the outbreak was first reported there in March.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2008/10/21/179615/Child-virus.htm