New disease outbreaks in China; 15K children infected
By HENRY SANDERSON
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 7, 2008; 1:37 AM
BEIJING — New outbreaks in China reported Wednesday put the number of children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 15,000 and the death toll has risen to at least 28 across the country.
A 2-year-old girl in the southern province of Hunan died of the disease after being in a coma, the provincial health bureau said on its Web site.
Another death was reported in the neighboring Guangxi region, Guangxi health officials said but did not give any details. The official Xinhua News Agency said the victim was a 3-year-old boy who died May 3.
Two kindergartens in Beijing were temporarily shut down Tuesday after children there showed symptoms of the disease, Xinhua said. There have been 1,482 cases in Beijing, most in kindergartens, it said.
So far, 15,799 outbreaks of the disease have been reported throughout the country this year, Xinhua said.
Enterovirus causes a severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease with symptoms including fever, mouth sores and rashes with blisters. It is easily spread by sneezing or coughing. The viruses mainly strike children ages 10 and younger. Some cases can lead to fatal swelling of the brain.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment, but most children affected by mild forms of the disease typically recover quickly without problems.”
15,000 kids with a disease is scary stuff – lets hope they know how to treat these kids and prevent the spread