| Enterovirus behind ‘Cambodia deaths’ |
PHNOM PENH Health experts working to identify an illness that has killed dozens of children in Cambodia found a link to a virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday.
At least 52 children aged three months to 11 years have died from the undiagnosed syndrome since mid-April, out of 59 cases, the WHO and the Cambodian health ministry said, updating the toll.
Recent laboratory results showed “a significant proportion of the samples tested positive for Enterovirus 71 (EV-71)”, which causes a lethal strain of hand, foot and mouth disease, the joint statement said.
EV-71 is common in Asia, but Nima Asgari, a public health specialist for the WHO in Cambodia, said he believed it had not been seen in this country before.
Asgari said identification of the strain was an important first step but stressed more tests were needed to learn if the deceased children also suffered from other viruses. “It’s a significant finding,” he said. “It demystifies quite a lot the situation.”
Agence France-Presse
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