| ■ Childhood Viral Disease Cases Continue to Climb in China | 2008.05.14 |
| The number of children in China reported to have hand, foot and mouth disease increased from 15,799 on Tuesday to 19,962 late Wednesday, and the death toll increased from 28 to 30, the Associated Press reported. The number of reported cases is expected to rise as a result of a Ministry of Health order issued this week requiring health-care workers to report infections within 24 hours, health experts said. Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood disease that can be caused by different viruses and typically leads to little more than a fever and rash. However, enterovirus 71 can cause a severe form of the disease that can lead to brain swelling, paralysis, or death. Last year, China recorded 80,000 hand, foot and mouth disease cases, including 17 deaths. But a health ministry spokesman said those figures may have been incomplete because there was no mandatory reporting last year, the AP reported. |