2010-04-22 00:35

CHANGSHA - Twenty-three children in central China's Hunan Province have died of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) since January, a spokesman with the provincial health bureau said Wednesday.

The province reported no deaths from the disease in the same period last year, the spokesman said.

In March alone, Hunan Province reported 10 deaths from the disease and another 2,844 cases of HFMD.

Outbreaks of the disease in previous years normally began in April, but this year it happened early in January, said Li Shuangjie, an infectious diseases doctor from Hunan Children's Hospital.

The hospital had been receiving 300 to 400 suspected HFMD patients every day in April, Li said.

Lack of awareness to HFMD early symptoms was one of the reasons for the outbreak, said the spokesman from the provincial health bureau.

A total of 94 children had died of HFMD this year in China as of April 11, a spokesman with the Ministry of Health said.

More than 192,300 cases were reported in the country from January 1 to April 11, up almost 40 percent from the same period of last year, of which 2,119 were serious cases.

HFMD is a common illness that mainly affects children under the age of 10. It usually starts with a slight fever followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. It is spread through contact with saliva or feces of the infected.

The HFMD infection normally lasts seven to 10 days, but may be fatal in severe cases.

Good personal hygiene, including frequent hand washing, is strongly recommended to prevent the disease.