Enterovirus sickens hundreds of Chinese children, kills 20

The number of children sickened by a severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease in an eastern Chinese city has risen to nearly 1,200, with 20 children dying from the virus, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

A total of 1,179 other children have become ill from enterovirus 71 since an outbreak began at the start of March in Fuyang, Anhui Province, it said, citing the municipal government.

As of Sunday night, 341 children were in hospital with 27 in critical condition and eight terminally ill, the government said.

All the patients are under six and most are under two.

The symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease are usually mild and include ulcers and blisters in the mouth, rashes on the hands and feet, and fever. The illness usually passes within a week without treatment, but a small minority of cases become life-threatening, mainly because of neurological complications as well as lung hemorrhages.

The virus is highly infectious and transmitted through saliva, blister fluid and feces.