China child virus death toll reaches 34

The incidence of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) in China has continued to surge, claiming 34 lives in the country. According to the state media, the deadly Enterovirus 71 (EV71), a strain of what is often called hand, foot and mouth disease, has so far infected nearly 25,000 people countrywide.

Out of the total four latest fatalities, two occurred in the hardest-hit central province of Anhui, where the deadly hand, foot and mouth disease has killed 22 children and sickened about 4,000.

The other two deaths were reported in the southern province of Guangdong, where an 8-month-old girl died of the disease early Monday, and in neighboring Guangxi, where an 18-month-old boy died after falling into a coma.

"Some of the fatalities occurred because of late response time," said Mao Qunan, a Health Ministry spokesman. "They were sent to hospital too late, increasing the difficulty of treating them. But early detection and early treatment can help curb the outbreak."

The potentially lethal enterovirus 71 that triggers hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) spreads very rapidly and can cause blisters in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. In worst cases, it can cause brain, heart and lung damage.

The outbreak was first emerged in Fuyang city in March, but was only reported in mid-April. The 40-day delay in reporting the outbreak has led to accusations of poor management and surveillance of the disease by local authorities.

The health ministry has now ordered health authorities to report all cases of the virus within 24 hours as well as asked hospitals for daily reports on the disease. It also ordered local health departments to report emergencies without any delay and increase investment in research into the disease.

As of Wednesday, 269 new cases of HFMD were reported in Fuyang, of whom 249 were hospitalized, China's health ministry said on Friday. Majority of the serious cases had recovered with no fatalities for seven consecutive days in Fuyang in east China's Anhui Province, the ministry said on its website.

As of Thursday, HFMD sickened 24,934 children (up from 19,962 a day earlier) on the Chinese mainland, of whom, 34 died. The deaths were occurred in six Chinese regions of Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan and Zhejiang.

It usually affects infants and children, and is highly contagious (can be transmitted through nose and throat discharges), can be spread through direct contact with the mucus or feces of an infected person and is not generally fatal.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes HFMD as mild (but can lead to serious and fatal diseases such as encephalitis or a type of paralysis) and says nearly all patients recover in seven to 10 days without medical treatment.

The symptoms of the disease include fever, rash in the mouth, sores with blisters on palms of hands and soles of feet, mouth ulcers or sores or blisters may be present on the buttocks of small children and infants. It often begins with a sore throat All the symptoms may not be present at one time.

There is no specific treatment for the disease and the individual symptoms may be eased with the help of medicines. Due its contagious nature the child must be kept in isolation and high temperatures may be controlled by medication and cool baths. Treatment with antibiotics is not effective. Salt water mouth rinses (1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1 glass of warm water) is said to be soothing if the child is able to rinse without swallowing. An adequate fluid intake must be ensured because swallowing may be painful. Extra fluid is needed when fever is present.

HFMD is not to be confused with “foot-and-mouth disease”, which is a disease affecting sheep, cattle and swine.