(CCTV.com)
Updated: 2008-05-07 11:47

25 children have now died from hand-foot-mouth disease. Tests have confirmed that 24 of those were triggered by a virus known as EV71. Meanwhile, the number of infected children infected continues to grow.

Children are examined in a kindergarten in Zhengzhou,  Henan Province, May 5, 2008. [Xinhua ]

Eastern China's Anhui province has been hit hardest by the virus. 22 of the deaths occurred in Fuyang, a city in Anhui's northwest. The other three fatalities occured in southern China's Guangdong province.

The two regions were followed by Beijing, and provinces of Jiangsu, Hunan and Hubei.

Reported infections of the disease exceeded 8,500 on Monday. All those infected are below age six, with most under age two.

In Anhui alone, over 600 new cases were reported on Saturday. Guangdong registered over 900 cases on Sunday, and Beijing has already recorded at least 1,000 cases of the disease.

10 cases have also been found in Hong Kong, where local health authorities warned that the number of infections has not yet peaked.

The Ministry of Health predicts that the spread of the disease will continue over the next few months, saying that better management and surveillance of the disease is required. There is currently no vaccine for the virus.