BEIJING – A top Chinese leader called for stepped-up research into
vaccines and drugs for hand, foot and mouth disease after 40 children
died from outbreaks last month, a state news agency said Saturday.
The Ministry of Health reported 77,756 cases of the
disease in March. The number of deaths increased sharply, up from 10 in
February.
"Preventing and controlling various infectious diseases such
as the hand-foot-mouth disease is a key task," Xinhua News Agency quoted
Vice Premier Li Keqiang
as saying.
China sees deadly outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth
disease every spring and summer, particularly in rural areas where
hygiene is poor. There were 353 deaths from the disease in 2009,
according to Health Ministry figures.
Li called for more research into vaccines and drugs
to fight the disease, plus stronger prevention and control efforts,
Xinhua said. Outbreaks
were reported in southern China's Guangxi Autonomous Region as well as
Guangdong, Henan, Hebei
and Shandong provinces.
Currently, there is no vaccine or specific treatment
for the virus, but most children recover quickly without problems.
Hand, foot and mouth disease typically strikes
infants and children and is characterized by fever, mouth sores and a
rash with blisters. It is spread by direct contact with nose and throat
discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected
people.
The virus is unrelated to the foot and mouth disease
that affects livestock.