Beware Taking Children to the Beijing Olympics
Anyone considering taking their children to China for the Beijing Olympics, which open on August 8, are brave indeed. CNN reported today that
A virulent virus has infected 3,321 children in eastern China where 22 have died of the illness, according to Xinhua news agency. The illness -- known as enterovirus 71 -- can cause hand, foot and mouth disease. The outbreak is another concern for China as it prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands for this summer's Olympics.
In milder cases, EV71 can cause cold-like symptoms, diarrhoea and sores on the hands, feet and mouth, according to the journal Genetic Vaccines and Therapy. But more severe cases can cause fluid to accumulate on the brain, resulting in polio-like paralysis and death, according to the journal.
There is no effective antiviral treatment for severe EV71 infections, and no vaccine is available. Adults' well-developed immune systems usually can fend off the virus, but children are vulnerable to it.
According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China reported 753 deaths from infectious disease in March 2008, according to the country's health ministry.
Last month, 456,209 cases of contagious disease were recorded nationwide, the ministry said. It noted the figures didn't include those from China's Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao regions.
The diseases included AIDS, hepatitis, diarrhoea and measles, among others. No cases of plague, cholera, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), polio, human bird flu, dengue or diphtheria were reported, the ministry said on its website.
AIDS was the deadliest of all the infectious diseases with 260 fatalities last month, according to the ministry.
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