Kuala Lumpur
- A virulent enterovirus never detected before locally killed
a child who contracted the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFM)
recently and may have been responsible for the death of three
others, a report said Wednesday.Specialist virologist Dr Peter
McMimm of the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth,
Australia, confirmed this on Tuesday after extensive tests in
the past seven days, according to the Malaysia's Star daily. Dr
McMimm said he was leaving it to the Health Ministry in Kuala
Lumpur to reveal the name of the enterovirus. He said Dr K.B.
Chua of Universiti Hospital's department of microbiology, with
whom he worked, would have to brief the Ministry and Universiti
Hospital authorities first. He said only one of the samples taken
to Perth by Dr Chua yielded positive results.
Dr McMimm
said precautionary measures carried out by health authorities
in Malaysia were sufficient to contain the disease. "Considering
that the number of cases has been declining, the measures taken
have been effective. "This virus, while not new, is one of
the less common strains. Although never before detected in Malaysia,
it has shown up in other parts of the world."
Dr McMimm
said the EV71 enterovirus which caused four of the 31deaths in
the East Malaysia's state of Sarawak in a 1997 outbreak had been
ruled out in the samples tested in Perth.
There are
currently 66 types of enteroviruses known to cause the HFM disease.
Among the more common are Coxsackie A4, Coxsackie A9, Coxsackie
A15 and Coxsackie A16. An anti-serum was used in the tests at
Princess Margaret Hospital. The hospital had also helped identify
the EV71 virus in 1997.
Four children
have died in Malaysia due to the recent outbreak of HFM.
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