HFMD claims life of baby girl in Zhejiang

Source: Xinhua  |   2009-6-2  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

China's east Zhejiang Province reported another death from hand-foot-mouth disease yesterday, bringing the toll from this year's outbreak to six in the province.

A 10-month-old girl died in hospital on Sunday, said Zhang Ping, deputy head of the Zhejiang Health Bureau.

The child developed symptoms of fever and rashes on her hands and feet on Wednesday, and was sent to the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jishou County on Thursday, shortly after her elder brother was diagnosed with HFMD.

Her diagnosis of HFMD was made on Saturday.

The girl lived with her parents and brother in Dipu Township, Anji County, which is home to many migrant families, 65 kilometers north of the provincial capital Hangzhou, said Zhang.

She was the second migrant child to die from HFMD in Zhejiang, Zhang said. Her brother is in a stable condition.

The Health Bureau of Anji is putting the people who had close contact with the girl under medical observation. The bureau has also disinfected the family's house and has offered psychological counseling to her parents.

Ma Weihang, deputy head of the Zhejiang Health Bureau, led a group of epidemiologists and medical experts to Anji yesterday to carry out HFMD investigation and control work. The medical workers will stay in Anji for one week.

As of midnight on Sunday, the province had reported 13,965 HFMD cases. The province plans to train medical workers on d iagnosis and treatment, hold morning health inspections in kindergartens and strengthen public education on HFMD, the Zhejiang Health Bureau said.