Malaysian hand, foot and mouth epidemic claims seventh victim

Todayonline: A nine-year-old boy has become the seventh victim of an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
The boy died on Monday afternoon in Sibu, one of the areas worst hit by the disease which mainly affects children.
"The children, who had succumbed to the disease are usually admitted under stressful condition, with neurological signs, while those who come early for treatment can survive," Sarawak's deputy chief George Chan told the Bernama news agency on Monday.
Chan said the eastern state on Borneo island had seen 158 new cases in the last day, with a total of 4,278 cases have been recorded since the epidemic started early this year.
The disease has also been detected in the neighbouring country of Brunei, where it has killed one child.
Health authorities have urged parents to keep their children at home, while Malaysia's health minister Chua Soi Lek has suggested that children below the age of 10 stay away from peninsular Malaysia to curb the spread of the disease.
Hand, foot and mouth disease causes painful mouth and throat ulcers, blisters on hands and feet and fever.
Sarawak has periodically been hit by the disease. In the worst outbreak in 1997, the state on Borneo island recorded 31 fatalities. — AFP