17 died of hand, foot and mouth disease in central China

By Hurma Khan Jul 16th, 2012 ( No Comment )

Beijing: At Least 17 people killed due to Hand, Foot and Mouth diseases and nearly 35,000 infected in China’s central Hunan province as high temperature helped spread the disease, report local authorities on Sunday.

According to official statistics, the infection have claimed to affect 240 lives in the first five months of this year whereas 132 deaths were reported last year from January to June, 2011, which seems that epidemic infection appeared harder to hit this year in terms of severity.

The provincial Center of Disease Control and prevention (CDC) said to the parents and kindergarten teachers of toddlers to immediately send their children to the hospital if they show symptoms like mouth sores, skin rashes and fever etc.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral illness that usually affects infants and children younger than five years old.

“The infection is expected to maintain a relatively high prevalence this year and children attending nurseries, kindergartens and elementary schools are most vulnerable to the disease,”said Xiao Donglou, a division director of the ministry’s disease prevention and control bureau.

the Ministry of Health has devised clinical guidelines as safety measures, to help with a timely diagnosis and proper treatment of HFMD particularly at grassroots-level health institutions.