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China to reopen kindergartens after disease
2008-05-20
Kindergartens in the Chinese city worst hit by a viral outbreak preying on children will reopen next month with the epidemic judged to be under control, state media said Tuesday. Kindergartens in Fuyang in the eastern province of Anhui will reopen on June 1, which is Children's Day in China, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing local health officials. Enterovirus 71, or EV71, causes fever, blisters, mouth ulcers and rashes and can lead to acute food and mouth disease. A total of 1,116 patients were still being treated in the city's hospitals as of Sunday for EV71, with two in critical condition and 17 in intensive care, it said. But the outbreak in the city of 9.3 million people was seen to be under control, Xinhua said. Cases first emerged in large numbers in eastern China in early March but the problem was not made public until early May, prompting state press to accuse local officials of dragging their feet. The disease is common in China. More than 80,000 cases were reported last year, with 17 deaths. However, its rapid spread across a vast region, including the capital Beijing just months before the city hosts the Olympics in August, has prompted the government to issue a national alert. The World Health Organisation has said there is little fear of a devastating outbreak. The disease has sickened around 25,000 children across the country and Anhui has been hit hardest, with more than 20 deaths occurring in Fuyang alone, according to earlier state media reports.
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