A 17-month-old boy died of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) Monday in Anhui Province in east China, the local health authority said Friday.

The boy, surnamed Hou, was a native of Lixin County in Bozhou city. He was rushed to the hospital on Sunday night after showing symptoms of fever, rashes on hands and buttocks, and vomiting for about two days, the provincial health administration said.

The baby's situation worsened early the next morning. He died during emergency treatment after being transferred to a senior hospital.

The boy died of pulmonary edema and hemorrhaging caused by HFMD, the administration said, citing a joint clinical diagnose by experts and doctors.

Doctors did not have time to conduct virus tests as the boy's condition required urgent treatment.

Dozens of HFMD cases have been reported this month in Anhui, particularly in Bozhou and Fuyang.

The No. 2 People's Hospital of Fuyang has received 15 children as of Friday, including 13 from Lixin. All the patients are in stable condition.

The administration issued a circular Thursday, asking local health authorities and hospitals to improve disease surveillance, reporting and treatment.

HFMD can be caused by a host of intestinal viruses, but EV71 and the Coxsackievirus (Cox A16) are the most common. It usually starts with a slight fever followed by blisters, ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. It can also lead to meningitis, encephalitis, pulmonary edema and paralysis in some children. There is no vaccine.

There was a HFMD outbreak in parts of southern China in the spring. In Fuyang of Anhui Province, the worst-hit area, 22 children died of an intestinal virus clinically diagnosed as EV71.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2009)