CDC update on hand, foot & mouth outbreak

On June 16, 2008, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) posted a notice confirming that the HFMD outbreak peaked on May 14, 2008, and is now in decline. According to Ministry of Health spokesman Mao Qun’an, although over 176,000 cases were reported last month, the number of daily reported cases decreased from 11,501 during the outbreak’s peak to 3,922 by June 5, 2008. The provinces which have been most affected by this outbreak are Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hebei, Shandong, and Hunan. A joint report from China CDC and the Office of the World Health Organization in China, released May 19, 2008, states that cases have also occurred in other provinces, including Anhui, Hebei, Hubei, Henan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan, and in the municipalities of Beijing and Chongqing. As of June 16, 2008, over 370 cases have also been reported in Macau, according to China CDC.