Hand-foot-mouth disease cases rise in Beijing - Xinhua

BEIJING, July 13 (Reuters) Reported cases of hand-foot-mouth disease in Beijing have risen by 9.5 per cent in the last week compared to a week earlier, Xinhua news agency said citing the Municipal Health Bureau.

Beijing reported 1,025 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease since Friday. A total of 4,657 people have been infected in the city so far this year, 83 percent of them children under the age of five.

The number of infections is expected to continue to rise, Xinhua said yesterday, adding that municipal health authorities have ordered all medical institutions to closely monitor the disease.

The disease, also known as coxsackie virus, is characterised by mouth sores and fever. Highly contagious among children, it is not normally fatal.

But an outbreak in May this year in Linyi city, in eastern Shandong Province, killed two boys and a girl, all under the age of two.

Last year, China reported a total of 13,637 cases of the disease, including six fatalities, Xinhua said, citing the Health Ministry.

All other provinces and regions in China, except Tibet, reported cases of the disease.

REUTERS SW PM0930