China expects higher incidence of viral disease through July

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- China will see a higher incidence of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) in June and July, said the Health Ministry spokesman here on Wednesday.

There has been no unusual pattern in the HFMD outbreak so far, said Mao Qun'an, the health ministry spokesman, at a press conference.

Except in Fuyang city in eastern Anhui Province, the HFMD incidence nationwide has not increased so far compared with last year, he said.

Last year, China had about 80,000 HFMD cases, including 17 fatal ones, but the figure might be less than exact because it was only this year, on May 2, that the central government had designated HFMD as a notifiable disease, according to a ministry source.

Once it became a notifiable disease, local health authorities were required to report cases directly to the ministry.

Experts estimated that HFMD cases might be reported in more places in the country in June and July, Mao told the press conference.

Outbreaks have occurred in Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Yunan, Jilin and the municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing.

The number of HFMD cases reported in China has totaled 15,799 as of Tuesday, according to a Xinhua tally of local official figures.

As of Wednesday morning, the viral epidemic has led to 28 deaths nationwide, also according to Xinhua's tally, based on confirmed death reports from provincial-level health bureaus.

The largest number of fatal cases were reported in Fuyang, with22 children dead. All these cases were caused by the intestinal virus enterovirus 71 (EV71).

The Fuyang cases were still under investigation, Mao said: "No person has so far been arrested but some were blamed for absence from their posts in the outbreak."

HFMD is caused by up to 20 types of virus but has similar symptoms, and most of the cases involve young children.

More boys have died of HFMD than girls, with the ratio being about two boys per girl this year, but it was difficult to say why boys are more vulnerable, the ministry source said.

"The earlier the children get treatment, the better," Mao said.