Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The enterovirus 71 (EV71) outbreak that caused 26 deaths in the last few weeks has reached Beijing where 1,482 official cases have been registered so far. At the same time the authorities are disciplining doctors for underestimating the problem. The number of cases in fact remains uncertain.
Every year thousands of children are affected by the disease which can cause permanent damage to the brain, lungs and heart. The current outbreak, which is particularly virulent, has killed 26 young children. For this reason the more than nine thousands cases that have been registered in the last few weeks are more important than all the cases for 2008.
Beijing’s Centre for Disease Control has issued an advisory warning that any child found with the illness should be isolated at home, and that if more than three children in a single classroom were infected the class should be suspended.
Many Beijing residents remain confident however that the authorities will act rapidly and decisively because with “Beijing hosting the Olympics, the city is certain to increase its efforts,” said He Xinping, the father of an 8-year-old.
The city of Fuyang (Anhui province) has been hardest by the outbreak with 22 dead and more than 5,000 recorded cases of infection.
Local authorities have disciplined doctors and medical staff for negligence and profiteering over the outbreaks. In some cases doctors underestimated the seriousness of the disease; in others, some have made false claims and overcharged for vaccines. Still others have failed to explain to families what preventive measures they might take to avoid infection.
At the Fuyang No 2 People's Hospital, the only hospital in the city with an infectious disease ward, Yu Meng brought his 13-month-old son two days ago in critical conditions with a high fever.
He told the South China Morning Post that he has already spent more than 10,000 yuan (US$ 1,600) on medicine. “My parents are asking around for money,” he said. “I don't know what will happen when we can't pay.”
He is afraid the hospital might refuse treatment if it is not paid.
He brought his son to the hospital last Thursday with a fever and skin rash but was turned away. At another hospital they simply diagnosed him as having a stomach problem.
In the meantime “My son's condition got worse and I had no choice but to bring him back to this hospital last Saturday,” he said. “If there had been no misdiagnosis, my son would not be in critical condition now.”