China on alert over deadly child virus

China on Sunday raised the death toll to 24 following the outbreak of a virus in another province a day after the Health Ministry ordered heightened efforts to stem the spread of infectious diseases.

Official Xinhua News Agency said an 18-month old boy who died in Foshan city in Guangdong Friday had died from enterovirus, known as EV-71. Another child who died in the district on April 25 also tested positive, it said. The deaths follow the 22 that have already died in central Anhui province, 1,000 miles to the north.

Stepped up vigilance by health bureaus and hospitals to prevent the spread of infectious diseases was necessary "to guarantee the smooth staging of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics and to ... preserve social stability," said the order posted on the ministry's Web site.

The number of reported cases of the virus in children rose to 3,736 early Saturday in the hardest-hit city of Fuyang, according to the state-run news agency. There were 3,321 reported cases Friday in Fuyang.

Xinhua reported that 4,529 children have been sickened in 15 cities in Anhui province.

The virus -- called Enterovirus 71, or EV71 -- can cause hand, foot and mouth disease. It's often confused with foot-and-mouth disease in livestock, but the diseases aren't the same, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An Anhui province official, Wang Yan, told Xinhua that 978 children are hospitalized, including 48 in critical condition.

"Authorities in Anhui ... are doing the utmost to treat the children and strengthen disease control," he said.

The virus is another concern for Chinese officials as the nation prepares to host the Summer Olympics, which open August 8 in Beijing.

Anhui province is south of the Chinese capital.

The Health Ministry issued a pamphlet Saturday urging local health bureaus to step up prevention and control of infectious diseases as the Olympics approach, Xinhua reported.

In milder cases, EV71 can cause coldlike symptoms, diarrhea and sores on the hands, feet and mouth, according to the journal Genetic Vaccines and Therapy.

But more severe cases can cause fluid to accumulate on the brain, resulting in polio-like paralysis and death, according to the journal.

There is no effective antiviral treatment for severe EV71 infections, and no vaccine is available.