China govt denies infant deaths in mystery epidemic

Chinese authorities have denied reports that at least 26 children have died from a mysterious illness in eastern China as local media Monday accused the government of covering up an epidemic.

Newspaper and Internet reports from Shandong province have said that "many" children have died and hundreds of others have fallen ill from a mysterious disease that has swept through Linyi city since late April.

"The reports on the Internet are pure rumour, this illness is a viral infection of the intestines that commonly occurs in infants and children in the summer and autumn months," the Shandong Health Bureau said on its website in a statement posted Sunday.
The bureau was responding to an Internet report that said at least 26 children had died in Linyi between April 29 and May 11.

Medical authorities in Linyi said the deaths were caused by an outbreak of "hand-foot-mouth disease" which had infected up to 292 children in the city at that time, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.

Hand-foot-mouth disease is a viral infection that usually begins in the throat. It is a relatively common infection caused by the Coxsackie virus, according to the US National Library of Medicine.

The Shanghai Morning Post blamed health officials for failing to inform the public of the disease leading to panic in the city.

Parents were refusing to allow their children out of doors and were avoiding eating beef or lamb believing the illness was linked to foot and mouth disease that affects livestock, the newspaper said.

The Linyi health bureau only began informing media of the "hand-foot-mouth disease" on Friday, after panic had spread to many households, it said.

Internet reports and postings said "SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) has returned," referring to the disease that appeared in China in 2003 and spread globally after Beijing health authorities tried to cover it up.

According to the Yanzhao Metropolitan Daily, the latest outbreak resulted in the death of a three-year-old child on April 29, sparking rumours that many children had died.

"All levels of government must recognise that by creating a transparent government they can win the confidence of the people and dispel and reduce unstable social elements" the daily said in an editorial.

The paper also accused the Linyi government of failing to implement new regulations mandating that governments be more open with information.

According to the Shanghai Morning Post, local journalists in Linyi did not report on the outbreak, indicating that there was a possible gag order on the epidemic by local officials.

The outbreak comes after years of dissatisfication with Linyi health authorities who have been accused of forcing abortions and sterilisations on thousands of women while implementing the "one-child" family planning policy.

In December last year, veteran blind activist Chen Guangcheng was sentenced to four years and three months in jail by a Linyi court after trying to bring such violations to light.

For nearly two years, Chen endured beatings and detention by people believed to have been hired by local officials as he sought to sue local health authorities and publicise the abuse.

Local courts refused to take up the case and instead convicted Chen of disrupting public order and jailed him.