Chinese CDC/WHO Release Report on Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Yesterday the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO Representative Office in China released their preliminary report on cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) due to enterovirus 71 (EV71) in the country. From January 1 to May 9 of this year, 61,459 cases and 36 deaths were reported on the mainland; the hardest-hit provinces have been Guangdong (11,374), Anhui* (9235), Zhejiang (6134), Shandong (4566), and Henan (3230). A report Wednesday from the Xinhua News Agency provides a current national HFMD death toll of 43. Also 2 children in Lhasa, Tibet, are believed to have contracted the disease.

The known death toll from China's May 12 earthquake is 51,151, according to Xinhua today; 288,431 are believed to be injured, and 29,328 remain missing.

*Home of Fuyang City.

Image of HFMD rash from the Report of the Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Outbreak in Fuyang City, Anhui Province and the Prevention and Control in China.