This story has been growing in coverage the last week or so. An outbreak of enterovirus has also been occuring in souther Taiwan.
New disease outbreaks in China; 15,000 children infected “BEIJING - New outbreaks in China reported Wednesday put the number of children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 15,000 and the death toll has risen to at least 28 across the country.
A 2-year-old girl in the southern province of Hunan died of the disease after being in a coma, the provincial health bureau said on its Web site.
Another death was reported in the neighboring Guangxi region, Guangxi health officials said but did not give any details. The official Xinhua News Agency said the victim was a 3-year-old boy who died May 3.
Two kindergartens in Beijing were temporarily shut down Tuesday after children there showed symptoms of the disease, Xinhua said. There have been 1,482 cases in Beijing, most in kindergartens, it said.
So far, 15,799 outbreaks of the disease have been reported throughout the country this year, Xinhua said.”…more at link.
China orders all communities to be prepared for deadly virus sickening young children
[i]"BEIJING: China’s health minister ordered all communities to ramp up the fight against a viral illness that has sickened thousands of young children, as the death toll rose Wednesday to 28.
So far 15,799 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease have been reported across the country this year, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
“Most of the cases in China have been blamed on enterovirus 71, or EV-71, one of several viruses that cause the illness. EV-71 can result in a more serious form of the disease that can lead to paralysis, brain swelling and sometimes death.
The rocketing number of cases spreading across a large area brings up parallels with the Communist leadership’s handling of previous infectious outbreaks, especially that of SARS in 2003.
Government attempts to conceal the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome — a new disease at the time — contributed to its spread, ultimately causing 774 deaths worldwide and forcing Beijing to apologize amid international criticism.
The hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak is the latest headache for authorities as they gear up for this summer’s Beijing Olympics. Preparations have already been upset by unrest in Tibet and protests during the global torch run.
According to a Xinhua report issued late Tuesday, Health Minister Chen Zhu ordered all communities to have a plan for dealing with hand, foot and mouth.”[/i]…more at link
And on the island there has been increasing numbers of cases reported in the south - Kending area.
Frankly I’m taking the following news with a pinch of salt, or rather some antibiotics. HK’s appointment to the WHO played down the significance of Sars. The WHO appointed her after knowing this.
[quote]WHO says China bringing virus outbreak under controlThe World Health Organization says Chinese authorities are bringing under control a deadly virus emergency which has already killed almost 30 children.
Our China correspondent, Stephen McDonell, reports the WHO says Chinese officials did not try to cover up the outbreak of a Enterovirus 71 which killed 22 young children in Fuyang City.
Nearly 16,000 children have now developed hand, foot and mouth disease but the Organisation’s Dr Hans Troedsson said it’s being diagnosed quickly because doctors have been warned about it.
“This is not a new virus - it is a virus we know,” he said.
“There’s no indication that it has changed. What we should expect is to see many more cases coming up.”[/quote]
Does anyone have any more news on the progress of the enterovirus (hand, foot and mouth disease) in Taipei at the moment? I don’t mean to be overly alarmist, but the rumor at my school is that more than a dozen of our students have been affected with at least one critical and likely to die. I am seriously alarmed by this news and management of the school have refused to confirm or deny it but have issued those silly masks apparently to allay the concerns of parents! I have stopped teaching as a precaution and made my official complaints to the school.
I think students’ health and lives are unnecessarily being put at risk by the school remaining open, and an apparent epidemic is not being taken seriously. Am I over-reacting or is there a problem here?
If there’s a confirmed infection, they have to close the class for 10 days for disinfection, etc. Failure to do so can result in very heavy fines for the business owner. You should report your school to the Centers for Disease Control under the Department of Health.
And get the teacher’s union onto it ASAP!
[quote=“irishstu”]I’d appreciate any official stats/news stories on the spread of this virus in Taiwan/Taipei.
A lot of parents (myself included) are very concerned about this.[/quote]
Mine are parsed from official stories that are coming across my desk, Stu. I just couldn’t be bothered cutting and pasting it all. Basically this disease spreads like wildfire through places like play areas, kindergartens, primary schools. Kids your age are most vulnerable – all the fatalities so far this year have been aged 5 or under bar one. Frequent hand-washing is the preventative, and it is effective. Immediate quarantine is also very effective, but the problem is that the nature of these kindies, etc., is that they’re businesses that have profit, not the best interests of the kids, at their core, so they are very very likely to cover up infections and keep classes open so that parents don’t get spooked. As a result, instead of one or two infections, you get whole classes infected.
If I was a parent, I’d be doing everything in my power to keep my kids out of the hands of such people if at all possible, and instilling into them the importance of frequent and careful hand-washing.
I saw a report last night in which a Centers for Disease Control official claimed we can expect the infection rate to tail off in northern Taiwan over the next few days, but I get the feeling this is damage control/panic prevention. He didn’t offer any kind of reasoning for his statement.
OK. Thanks Sandman. My in-laws are basically trying to stop my wife from even taking the kids out of the house (while of course not actually offering to help look after them at all). For my wife to keep two kids in the house all day (for several days) is more than most people could handle. I’m wondering how safe it would be for her to go to the local park, or just at least take them for walks, or on the MRT, etc.
Luckily my son seems to be going through a phase where he likes washing his hands (with soap) every 20 minutes or so (OK, slight exaggeration). Normally I’d be worried about OCD or something, but the timing of this is good, all things considered.
Basically I’d say parks and such would be OK. It’s keeping them away from other kids that’s most important. You need to also remember that while adults are normally immune, they can of course pick it up if they happen to touch a surface touched by an infected kid and pass it on to a child. Kids under three are something like 90+% likely to have no immunity, a % that rises – but not by much – as the kids get older.
Masks are bullshit, by the way – they’re things that actually encourage a kid to put his or her hands near his mouth.
[quote=“sandman”]. Frequent hand-washing is the preventative, and it is effective. Immediate quarantine is also very effective, but the problem is that the nature of these kindies, etc., is that they’re businesses that have profit, not the best interests of the kids, at their core, so they are very very likely to cover up infections and keep classes open so that parents don’t get spooked. As a result, instead of one or two infections, you get whole classes infected.
If I was a parent, I’d be doing everything in my power to keep my kids out of the hands of such people if at all possible, and instilling into them the importance of frequent and careful hand-washing.
[/quote]
Seems standard practice here out of necessity it is sometimes argued, that kids who are sick are sent to the kindergarten. Both parents are working, so there is nobody to take care of the sick kid. It does not dawn on them the danger in doing this, else they really don’t give a shit or can’t take a day off. Ditto for the kindergartens, why upset one parent by refusing a child, when you can conceal the whole thing, and continue business as usual. If another parent asks, well its double pie-say and sorry, but the parents have no where to send the kid, they must work, and anyway it’s a simple cold.
Then sick kid usually gets dumped into a separate room (quarantined), with cute hello kitty face mask. All the while the kid is pawing everything and sharing the bathroom and wash basin. My wife has seen this behavior at 2 of the kindergartens she worked at.
From the TT
Totally unenforceable, the kindergartens can blame dumb and say they thought it was a cold. The fines are peanuts, the media-memory here is about 48 hrs until something juicer comes along
Just make sure your kids know how to wash their hands properly. People confuse wetting their hands with washing their hands.
I’d also like to point out that its far more than “just a cold” – the EV71 strain (which is the one responsible for the present outbreak) – is a major cause of aseptic meningitis.
It really puts the shits up me. I think I’ll buy a summer cabin in deepest Taitung County for the next few years!
[quote=“irishstu”]OK. Thanks Sandman. My in-laws are basically trying to stop my wife from even taking the kids out of the house (while of course not actually offering to help look after them at all). For my wife to keep two kids in the house all day (for several days) is more than most people could handle. I’m wondering how safe it would be for her to go to the local park, or just at least take them for walks, or on the MRT, etc.
[/quote]
The parks should be fine, the MRT should be fine. Just keep their hands out of their mouths, and keep them away from areas where kids congregate or frequent (slides, swings etc). From what I have read the mouth is the entry point, it goes down into the stomach and works out from there. I have not seen how resilient the virus is to the temp and humidity ranges
Was in Carrefour on Monday night, and I have not seen any companies or brands trying to exploit and make money out of this with “special” masks, soaps, detergents (as with SARS) as of yet. Just give it a couple of days I guess
[quote=“sandman”]I’d also like to point out that its far more than “just a cold” – the EV71 strain (which is the one responsible for the present outbreak) – is a major cause of aseptic meningitis.
It really puts the shits up me. I think I’ll buy a summer cabin in deepest Taidong County for the next few years![/quote]
Cabin in Taidong County aside, I dropped my daughter at kindergarten this morning. Think it may be a good idea to pick her up early and not take her tomorrow. Got a 1 week old baby at home, and at that age they have zero immunity