A Chinese virus disease expert has reassured the public that
hand-foot-mouth disease, which has claimed two lives in east China,
is completely different from foot-and-mouth disease and should be
no cause for panic.
"Foot-and-mouth disease infects cattle, sheep and swine before
it can infect humans who have been in contact with sick animals. It
is a major livestock disease but its effects on humans are mild. By
contrast, hand-foot-mouth disease is an exclusively human illness,
which mainly occurs among young children through breathing or
contacts with toys or utensils carrying traces of the virus," said
the expert Li Dexin.
Li, director of the Institute of Prevention and Control of Virus
Disease of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), said hand-foot-mouth disease, which is more common in summer
and autumn, is not included in the routine reporting list of
infectious diseases in China.
A 14-month-old boy and a two-year-old girl died of
hand-foot-mouth disease in Linyi City in east China's Shandong Province on May 19 and April 29
respectively.
Symptoms of the disease include fever, sores in the mouth and a
rash with blisters. It often begins with a sore throat. Moderately
contagious, the disease can be transmitted through nose and throat
discharges. It can sometimes be fatal if complications occur.
Li said the first recorded outbreak of the disease in China was
in Shanghai in 1981 and more than 7,000 cases occurred in Tianjin
from May to October 1983.
More than 129,000 cases of the disease were recorded from June
to October 1998, with 78 deaths, mainly children under five, said
Li.
Shandong reported 3,030 cases in 2006, two of which were fatal.
It reported 2,477 cases of hand-food-mouth disease in 2005,
including one death.
"Most patients catch the disease suddenly and can recover within
a week," he said, adding that one of the most effective prevention
methods was simple, frequent hand washing. All parents should teach
their children basic hygiene reflexes and parents looking after
babies should also wash their hands frequently, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2007)