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Guangxi expert panel to tackle hand-foot-mouth disease

By Zhu Yanting (China Daily Guangxi Bureau)
Updated: 2009-07-21 15:19

An expert panel set up by Public Health Department of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is heading to a hand–foot-mouth disease (HFMD) epidemic area in Guangxi to lead a campaign against a recent outbreak.

Three children have died of HFMD in Pingguo county in south China's rural Guangxi area since July 7 and 112 HFMD cases have been reported, according to local authorities.

Primary schools and kindergartens in Tonglao Town, the hardest-hit area, have suspended classes. Several kindergartens failed to meet hygiene standards, which allowed the virus to be easily passed on from person to person, local health authorities said.

HFMD, caused by enterovirus (EV71), is a common illness in infants and children. The virus usually disappears in seven to ten days but may cause death in severe cases. May and July are the peak periods for the disease.