Death toll from child virus in China now 39
Last Updated: Monday, May 12, 2008 | 2:30 PM ET
The Associated Press
Five more children have died of hand, foot and mouth disease in China, bringing the death toll to 39 since late March.
The official Xinhua News Agency says a girl died in eastern Anhui province from enterovirus 71, a virus that causes a severe form of the disease. The other deaths occurred on the southern tropical island of Hainan and in southern Guangdong province.
Hand, foot and mouth spreads through contact with saliva, feces, fluid secreted from blisters or mucus from the nose and throat.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment, but most children affected by mild forms of the disease recover quickly without problems after suffering little more than a fever and rash.
Xinhua says hand, foot and mouth has made 24,934 children in six provinces ill.
Health experts say they expect the number of reported infections to rise as a result of a Ministry of Health order last week requiring health-care providers to report infections within 24 hours. The disease is expected to peak in the hot months of June and July.
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