Virus sickens 110,000 in Vietnam, kills 166
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam says an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease has infected more than 110,000 people this year and killed 166, most of them children under 5 years old.
A Health Ministry official said Friday that the infection rate was slowing from a September peak of 3,000 per week to about 1,500 per week in December. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
The virus typically infects up to 15,000 children per year in Vietnam, killing 20 to 30 of them. Most people recover quickly from the illness after little more than a fever and rash.
The official says this year's figures cannot easily be compared to previous years, because the government has only collected thorough data on this disease in the past year.
Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/virus-sickens-110-000-vietna...
- Tim 2011/12/31 00:26:31
+1I have previously only heard of the foot and mouth disease that affects hooved animals. I hope the Vietnamese Government soon finds a cure and/or a vaccine.reply - Kashee 2011/12/30 22:53:39+1I hope they can get it under control.reply
- Maya Zauberman 2011/12/30 21:25:28+1It's sad, but children don't have as good as an immune system as adults, so they're bound to die more often. If only vaccines weren't as expensive there...reply
- Beautiful_Syn 2011/12/30 19:27:34+1Hopefully the children will make a speedy recovery, something needs to be done to keep this from happening again on such a large scale.reply
