Big outbreak of child virus in Vietnam may worsen

February 21, 2012 in Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Vietnam says a large ongoing outbreak of a common childhood virus could worsen this year.

The hand, foot and mouth virus has sickened more than 6,000 and killed nine children since January. They died from the strain EV-71, a more virulent enterovirus.

The said this year's infection rate is seven times higher than it was during the first six weeks of 2011. But it has slowed since a September peak of 3,000 cases per week.

State media reported the health officials' comments Tuesday.

Last year, the disease sickened more than 110,000 and killed 166, mostly children.

The common disease typically causes little more than a fever and rash. No vaccine exists.

©2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

4 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 4 /5 (1 vote)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

SARS-like virus claims new life in Saudi

A Saudi man who had contracted the coronavirus has died, raising the death toll in the kingdom from the SARS-like virus to 16, the health ministry announced on Monday on its Internet website.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 22 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Telerehabilitation allows accurate assessment of patients with low back pain

A new "telerehabilitation" approach lets physical therapists assess patients with low back pain (LBP) over the Internet, with good accuracy compared with face-to-face examinations, reports a study in the May 15 issue of Sp ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 32 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Bronchodilators appear associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events

A study of older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suggests that new use of the long-acting bronchodilators β-agonists and anticholinergics was associated with similar increased risks of cardiovascular ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 42 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Leading explanations for whooping cough's resurgence don't stand up to scrutiny

Whooping cough has exploded in the United States and some other developed countries in recent decades, and many experts suspect ineffective childhood vaccines for the alarming resurgence.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Early childhood respiratory infections may explain link between analgesics and asthma

A new study conducted by Boston researchers reports that the link between asthma and early childhood use of acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be driven by underlying respiratory infections that prompt the use of these analgesics, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal'

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death. By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer ...

Study shows how bilinguals switch between languages

(Medical Xpress)—Individuals who learn two languages at an early age seem to switch back and forth between separate "sound systems" for each language, according to new research conducted at the University of Arizona.

Study suggests new source of kidneys for transplant

Nearly 20 percent of kidneys that are recovered from deceased donors in the U.S. are refused for transplant due to factors ranging from scarring in small blood vessels of the kidney's filtering units to the organ going too ...

Discovery of circadian clock in mice hair reveals period of time when damage from radiotherapy can be quickly repaired

Discovering that mouse hair has a circadian clock - a 24-hour cycle of growth followed by restorative repair - researchers suspect that hair loss in humans from toxic cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy ...

Gym class reduces probability of obesity, study finds for first time

Little is known about the effect of physical education (PE) on child weight, but a new study from Cornell University finds that increasing the amount of time that elementary schoolchildren spent in gym class reduces the probability ...

Human-like opponents lead to more aggression in video game players, study finds

Video games that pit players against human-looking characters may be more likely to provoke violent thoughts and words than games where monstrous creatures are the enemy, according to a new study by researchers ...