US offering to help China in fight against viral infection

Most cases of hand, foot and mouth in China this year have been blamed on enterovirus 71, a virus that can cause a severe form of the disease.

Hand, foot and mouth disease spreads through contact with saliva, feces, fluid secreted from blisters or mucus from the nose and throat. There is no vaccine or specific treatment, but most children affected by the disease typically recover quickly without problems after suffering little more than a fever and rash.

Last year, 80,000 hand, foot and mouth cases were recorded nationwide with 17 deaths, the health ministry has said. Spokesman Mao Qun'an said the figures were probably incomplete because reporting wasn't mandatory then.

The ailment is unrelated to the foot and mouth disease that affects livestock.