China orders alert that has killed 22 kids
03.05.2008 20:40 World News - Source: USATODAY.com
BEIJING (AP) — China's Health Ministry is ordering a nationwide alert to control an outbreak of a virus that has killed 22 children in one province and shows signs of spreading.
Saturday's alert to health departments around China comes in response to what the ministry calls a relatively large outbreak of Enterovirus 71 in the central province of Anhui.
By the end of Thursday, more than 3,321 cases of the virus were reported in Anhui's Fuyang city. Besides the 22 deaths, the health ministry says 978 people remain hospitalized, 58 in serious or critical condition.
Parts of China experience frequent outbreaks of viruses. The government has ramped up its disease-monitoring network since the SARS pneumonia outbreak in 2003.
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