Nearly 5,000 hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) cases have been reported from January to March this year in Dongguan city, southeast China's Guangdong Province, nine times than that of the same period last year, Guangzhou Daily reported.

Zhong Xinguang, an official from the Disease Prevention and Control Center of Dongguan said the disease was found in all areas of the city, and the number of infectors in seven towns has hit 400.

According to Zhong, the HFMD cases in Dongguan in the first three months, with four deaths, accounts for about 20 percent of that of the whole Guangdong Province.

The official predicts a regional outbreak of the disease and more deaths as the peak period approaches.

To prevent the disease from spreading, the city has offered training course on medical rescue of HFMD patients. The health department has designated a number of hospitals to handle patients in particularly serious condition.

Meanwhile, local kindergartens will be closed if more than ten cases are found among children within one week.

HFMD is a common illness that mainly affects children under the age of 10. It usually starts with a slight fever followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. It is spread through contact with the saliva or feces of the infected.

The peak period for the disease is from April to July.

(CRIENGLISH.com April 4, 2010)