May 7, 2008
HFMD infections balloon to 12,164 and now in Beijing
- Xinhua says that a total of 12,164 Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD or 手足口病) cases have been reported so far this year. 26 fatalities have been recorded. Outbreaks have been recorded in twelve provinces and municipalities: Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Beijing and Chongqing.
- Danwei cites another Xinhua report that all 18 districts of Beijing have reported outbreaks of the disease, with 1,482 infections recorded. Two kindergartens in the capital have already been suspended.
- Ten doctors and health officials have apparently been punished for mishandling the disease, says AFP citing a Xinhua report. In Anhui, one village doctor by the name of Wang Dongjun has been fined 4,080 yuan for injecting 17 children with immune globulin, charging 80 yuan for each injection and falsely claiming it would cure them.
- Yet another Xinhua report says World Health Organization's (WHO) China representative Hans Troedsson has praised China for its "quick response to the outbreak". However, WHO has also warned that the virus may be yet to peak.
- While we'd like to think Chinese health officials have come along way since the days of SARS, Reuters says a few children died from HFMD as early as March and a delay in the outbreak has triggered criticism in the media. The WSJ cites a Hong Kong microbiology expert who says HFMD outbreaks are to be expected every year and are not as lethal as SARS or bird flu. Nevertheless, the increased scrutiny of Chinese health officials is to be welcomed.
Previously on Shanghaiist
HFMD in at least six provinces and on the rise
Photo from Aileen Koh: Be on the lookout for these reddish spots on the hands and feet of your child.
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i think we still can not rule out the possibility of cover-up by those officals. Will see how the story is unfolding
richardlee: I am pleasantly surprised by your outburst of sanity.
get over yourself. just because we criticize western media of bias doesn't mean we are pro-CCP or brainwashed.
@ ricky lee
Your brain is in dire need of a washing. I suspect that a silent disease like this moves faster than anyone can track, especially considering how backwards China's rural areas still are.
@nanheyangrouchuan (stinky mutton):
yes. My hair needs washing. That's becuase i have hairs. You don't! I really feel sorry for you! poor you!
Of course the god makes compensation for you: you have love handles! you should applaud for your extra waistline. Cheers
Stinky mutton:
it's a great fun to talk to you like this. seriously! i enjoy it. Actually, when you say something like that, I am not angry. I just think it is so funny....
I check news in all Chinese media. I still find it hard to accept that there was no cover-up. there are 15 provinces that have reported new cases of this disease. Remember this disease is not as powerful as SARS. So it should not have been spreading faster than SARS. And there was a one month gap from when a doctor reported the ourbreak to the adminstration to the time when the health adminstration issued an alert. As a Chinese, I just know some old, ugly habits of Chinese officials die hard. But i know it is China. Change needs time. I am not Obama follower, who takes his fake promise that he could Change US over night
^You guys really need to get a room. and if we all get lucky, you will come out only after growing up or getting a life. Geez.
Anyhow, latest info: Cases now exceed 15,000.
The number of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) cases reported in China this year rocketed to 15,799, up from an earlier figure of 12,164 , as of Tuesday evening, resulting in 26 deaths, according to a Xinhua tally of local official figures.
There are alot of remote villages in China, and HFMD can arise from unsanitary conditions like ringworm does in the US (kids play in the dirt, get a cut, cut gets infected, etc).
There may be cover ups by county level officials, but some may not even know what the disease is, just some rashes on kids who were playing in the dirt.
And just to make ricky happy...
bad China!