Enterovirus Outbreak In Chinese City Has Killed 19 Young Children
April 29th, 2008 | by admin |Nineteen children have died from an intestinal virus called “enterovirus 71″ in Fuyang, China. The victims have been between the ages of two and six. The virus is sometimes called “hand-foot-mouth disease.”
The children have came to the hospital with fevers and blisters, ulcer in the mouth or rashes on the hands and feet. As of Saturday 204 children are in hospital with the virus, four of those are in critical condition. A total of 789 children have become ill from the virus.
Province and central Ministry of Health officials and doctors are in Fuyang to investigate the outbreak and help with the care of the patients.
The report from China did not give a source of the virus or why this one city has been hit so hard. Fuyang, a city of 900,000 is a industrial and agricultural hub. In 2004 it was revealed that at least eight infants died in the city when the milk powder they were given had no nutritional value.
In past years there have been “enterovirus 71″ outbreaks in Taiwan, Malaysia and some East European countries. The disease is spread from conduct with the infected blisters or feces. It is most commonly found in very young children.
The virus brings fever and blisters or ulcers inside the mouth. The ulcers and blisters can also appear on limbs. At times the disease can cause deadly fevers, paralysis and swelling of the brain or brain lining.
The drinking water and food served at schools, kindergartens and the villages the surround Fuyang are being inspected to find the source of the virus.
Source: Moments In Time
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