A hand-foot-mouth outbreak in east China's Shandong Province has claimed its second
victim as a 14-month-old boy succumbed in the city of Linyi on
Saturday, officials in Jinan reported.
Sixty-one new cases were reported on Sunday, the provincial
health department announced, with 27 patients hospitalized,
bringing the number of those in health institutions to 191.
The child first entered Linyi People's Hospital on Saturday
morning after developing a fever and blisters but his condition
deteriorated and he passed away on Saturday evening. This was the
second death after a two-year-old girl died from the disease on
April 29.
Hand-foot-mouth disease, also known as coxsackievirus infection,
is a childhood illness that is particularly dangerous to children
under 10. Symptoms of the mildly contagious disease often begin
with a soar throat, progressing to a fever, mouth sores and a rash
with blisters.
The city has reported 981 cases of disease since April, with 609
of the victims now recovered, according to the department. The
outbreak seems to be localized in the counties and townships around
Linyi City.
Local health departments have launched a public awareness
campaign to remind parents that ensuring they and their children
wash their hands regularly can prevent the spread of the
disease. A provincial health taskforce, comprised of three
teams of experts, is on hand to help control the epidemic.
Shandong saw two fatalities from hand-foot-mouth in 2006 and one
in 2005, among 5,507 cases.
(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2007)