CAMBODIA - Alert for an epidemic of foot and mouth disease that primarily affects malnourished children

Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) - According to some experts, the high rate of malnutrition in Cambodia has led to the rapid spread of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease that, since last April, has claimed the lives of 54 poor children . In the country have closed all kindergartens and primary schools to try to contain the spread of enterovirus-71 (EV-71), which is the responsible course of the outbreak of the disease known as HFMD Hand, foot and mouth (HFMD .) The HFMD affects especially children and infection occurs through contact with the mucus, saliva or feces of an infected person. Outbreaks usually occur in Southeast Asia during the rainy season.



The Kantha Bopha hospital in the capital of Cambodia, most infected children have died between April and late June. In several provinces there have been mild forms of the disease and could be hundreds of cases not detected by the health services are very limited in the country. It is impossible to determine the mortality rate from severe form of HFMD.

Only recently the government of Cambodia has begun to collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) for monitoringIn a joint investigation by the Ministry of Health of Cambodia and the WHO has shown that the virus EV-71, is one of the known causes of HFMD, estuva present in most reported cases. Many children have died during the first day of hospitalization and before the disease were malnourished or suffering from other chronic diseases.



Malnutrition affects 40% of Cambodian children, making them more vulnerable to infectious diseases. The country recorded the third highest rate of child malnutrition among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and 28% of children under 5 are underweight or too small for age. The "hidden hunger", lack of vitamins or minerals, is another serious problem in the country where half of all children under 5 years, the most vulnerable to HFMD, are anemic, mainly due to iron deficiency . Nearly 9 in 10 are already anemic year-old.



According to WHO, this year, there have been in China more than 1.27 million cases of mild and severe foot and mouth disease, with 356 deaths, compared with just over 711,300 cases last year. It also appears that the number of cases in Singapore has grown from 871 to over 26,000 in the first six months of this year. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 26/7/2012)http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=33886&lan=spa