Beijing has reported 1,092 cases of children infected with
hand-foot-mouth disease since June, a sharp increase on previous
months, the municipal health authorities said.
Most of the infections involved children under the age of five,
said the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.
But there have been no reports of any critical cases, it said,
adding that it had ordered all medical institutions in the city to
provide daily updates on cases of the disease.
The city reported more than 100 cases on each day of June 11, 13
and 14, the bureau said.
The city reported 422 cases of the disease as of May 16 this
year, according to the Beijing Municipal Disease Control and
Prevention Center. It only reported 186 cases during the
January-May period last year.
Hand-foot-mouth disease, also known as coxsackie virus
infection, is a common childhood illness that mainly affects
children under the age of 10. Symptoms include fever, sores in the
mouth and a rash with blisters. It often begins with a sore
throat.
Moderately contagious, the disease, more common in summer and
autumn, can be transmitted through nose and throat discharges. It
can sometimes be fatal if complications occur.
In Linyi city, eastern Shandong Province, two boys and a girl, all
under the age of two, have died from the disease this year,
according to the provincial health department. Linyi had reported
1,263 cases as of May 24 this year, 872 of whom had recovered.
As of May 21, China had reported 5,459 cases of hand-foot-mouth
disease, up 119 percent on last year, according to the health
ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2007)