Seven more children died in a hand-foot-mouth disease outbreak in central China's populous Henan Province as of Wednesday, bringing the death toll from the disease to 25, said local authorities.

Fourteen of the 25 dead were from Shangqiu City in east Henan, said Huang Wei, vice head of the provincial health department.

The dead were among the 30,844 cases reported in Henan, 10,922 up from the figure released last Tuesday.

According to Huang, 9,283 children had been hospitalized, 2,027 of whom are still in hospital, including 274 in serious condition.

The official noted that the number of cases soared since the end of March.

"Normally, peak of the disease's outbreak is between May and July," Huang warned.

Hand-foot-mouth disease 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 can sometimes be fatal if complications occur.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2009)