A Chinese virus disease expert has reassured the public that hand-foot-mouth disease, which has claimed two lives in east China, is completely different from foot-and-mouth disease and should be no cause for panic.

"Foot-and-mouth disease infects cattle, sheep and swine before it can infect humans who have been in contact with sick animals. It is a major livestock disease but its effects on humans are mild. By contrast, hand-foot-mouth disease is an exclusively human illness, which mainly occurs among young children through breathing or contacts with toys or utensils carrying traces of the virus," said the expert Li Dexin.

Li, director of the Institute of Prevention and Control of Virus Disease of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said hand-foot-mouth disease, which is more common in summer and autumn, is not included in the routine reporting list of infectious diseases in China.

A 14-month-old boy and a two-year-old girl died of hand-foot-mouth disease in Linyi City in east China's Shandong Province on May 19 and April 29 respectively.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, sores in the mouth and a rash with blisters. It often begins with a sore throat. Moderately contagious, the disease can be transmitted through nose and throat discharges. It can sometimes be fatal if complications occur.

Li said the first recorded outbreak of the disease in China was in Shanghai in 1981 and more than 7,000 cases occurred in Tianjin from May to October 1983.

More than 129,000 cases of the disease were recorded from June to October 1998, with 78 deaths, mainly children under five, said Li.

Shandong reported 3,030 cases in 2006, two of which were fatal. It reported 2,477 cases of hand-food-mouth disease in 2005, including one death.

"Most patients catch the disease suddenly and can recover within a week," he said, adding that one of the most effective prevention methods was simple, frequent hand washing. All parents should teach their children basic hygiene reflexes and parents looking after babies should also wash their hands frequently, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2007)