Virus outbreak kills 19 children

A virus outbreak in an eastern Chinese city has killed 19 children and left hundreds ill, spreading panic among residents, state media reported yesterday nearly two months after the outbreak started.

The intestinal virus called enterovirus 71 or EV71, one trigger of hand-foot-mouth disease, began spreading in Fuyang in Anhui province from early March, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing the city health office.

The young victims went to hospitals with "fever, along with blisters, ulcers in the mouth or rashes on the hands and feet," the report said.

By Saturday, 19 children had died from the outbreak and 204 remained in hospital, including four in a critical condition. In total, 789 were struck by the virus, mostly younger than two years old.