Beijing reports first death related to HFMD virus

A 13-month-old boy is the first casualty in Beijing from the hand, foot and mouth disease that has ravaged Anhui province.

Deng Xiaohong, spokeswoman for the Beijing Health Bureau, told Reuters that another child had died of the disease in a Beijing hospital but that case will be recorded in neighboring Hebei province, where the child contracted the disease. Deng did not give further details.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness but the enterovirus 71 which caused the latest outbreak causes a more severe form of the disease that could be fatal.

There is no vaccine or antiviral agent available to treat or prevent EV71. More than 27,500 cases have been reported as of last Friday, state news reported. Deaths have been reported in Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi region while the number of new cases in Anhui have started to decline.