China steps up monitoring of deadly virus outbreak

BEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - An eastern Chinese province has instituted a daily reporting system to monitor the spread of a virus that has killed 19 children and spread panic among residents, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The enterovirus 71, or EV71, which can cause hand, foot and mouth disease, began spreading in Anhui province's Fuyang city from early March, Xinhua said, but was only publicly reported on Sunday.

But in a sign of new attention to the outbreak, Health Minister Chen Zhu visited Fuyang at the weekend and other officials and doctors have gone to investigate.

The provincial health department will also host workshops to train more medical workers in prevention and cure of the virus, the report said.

By Saturday, there were 789 cases, including 19 deaths, the majority of them children under the age of two. A total of 204 children remain in hospital, four in critical condition, Xinhua said.

Enteroviruses spread mostly through contact with infected blisters or faeces and can cause high fever, paralysis and swelling of the brain or its lining.

EV71 outbreaks have occurred in past years in Southeast Asia and some East European countries.

(Reporting by Lindsay Beck; Editing by Nick Macfie)