Published Date: 2000-07-20 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Hand, foot & mouth disease - Japan
Archive Number: 20000720.1200
HAND FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE - JAPAN
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A ProMED-mail post
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See Also
Hand, foot & mouth disease - Malaysia 2000.0476Hand, foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (02) 2000.0501
Hand, foot & mouth disease - Malaysia (03) 2000.0849
Hand, foot & mouth disease - Taiwan: 1998-1999 2000.0206
1999
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Enterovirus 71, treatment - Japan 19990711160807
Enterovirus 71 - Asia 19991226225820
Enterovirus 71 genotypes - Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan 19990821212226
1998
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Hand, foot & mouth disease, fatal - Singapore 19980628100055
Hand, foot & mouth disease - China (Hong Kong) 19980716233251
Hand, foot & mouth disease - China (Hong Kong) (02) 19980729233123
Date: Wed 19 Jul 2000
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Kyodo News, filed 15 Jul 2000 [edited
Children with hand foot and mouth disease on rise
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The number of people in Japan infected with hand foot and mouth disease has
risen sharply in the last few months, with some patients developing such
serious complications as encephalitis, the Health and Welfare Ministry said
Saturday. The Ministry is urging the public, medical authorities and
prefectural governments to be on alert for the disease throughout the
summer, especially concerning children under 10. The disease mainly strikes
children and is characterized by fever, rashes and blisters on the arms and
legs and in the mouth. It can be caused by several viruses, including
enterovirus 71 (EV71) and Coxsackie virus A16. About 13 400 people in Japan
were reported to have been infected in the week beginning 26 Jun 2000, the
Ministry said, citing figures collected from pediatricians in some 3000
locations nationwide. The most heavily affected regions are the nation's
southernmost main island of Kyushu and the prefectures of Yamagata, Gunma,
Nara and Wakayama. The Ministry said the disease may spread further as the
recent increase in infections resembles those recorded in 1990 and 1995,
when the disease was widespread throughout the country.
The officials expressed concern that 12 cases of infection with EV71, which
is capable of triggering serious complications, have already been reported
this year.
EV71 was detected in hand foot and mouth disease patients during an
outbreak in Taiwan in 1998, the Ministry said. The Ministry also received
a report that the deaths of three children in Osakan in 1997 are believed
to have been caused by this virus.
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ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[In Europe epidemics of hand, foot and mouth disease in children occur at
three-four year intervals, and they have been more common in rural and
semi-rural localities. As the name implies the signs are vesicular lesions
on hands, feet and mouth. Constitutional symptoms and discomfort are mild
and the disease normally resolves without treatment. The current epidemic
in Japan is unusual in its severity. Those reported from South East Asia
previously have been mostly milder. Mortality has bee observed, however,
during outbreaks in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The data suggest that
severity is associated with Enterovirus 71 infection. Genotypic analysis of
strains circulating in Southeast Asia and the Far East has identified 3
distinct strains, but none appears uniquely associated with severity. -
Mod.CP
.............................jw/cp/es
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