Authorities in central China's Hubei Province have penalized six doctors and officials for mishandling a hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) case in which a child from Xianning City died, official sources said on Thursday.

The Chibi Municipal Health Bureau revoked the license of Huang Yingjun, a doctor with the Quankou Clinic in Guantangyi Town, Chibi city, who was said to have delayed the transfer of the patient to the county hospital.

The patient, surnamed Xie, came to the hospital on May 10 with a fever and cough. The symptoms were diagnosed by Huang as a cold. Xie was treated at the clinic for two days before being referred for further care.

The head of the clinic, Li Gexian, was dismissed for dereliction of duty.

On May 12, when the patient sought treatment at the Xian'an District Women and Children's Hospital and Dingsiqiao Township Hospital, doctors did not take the child's medical history or make an accurate diagnosis, nor did they refer the patient to other hospitals in a timely manner.

Wu Changqing, deputy head of the Xian'an hospital and Zhang Yinghua, deputy head of the Dingsiqiao hospital, were reprimanded for dereliction of duty. Lei Qing, a pediatrician at the Xian'an hospital, was dismissed and Wu Yuhua, a doctor at the Dingsiqiao hospital, was given a demerit.

Xie died after eventually being transferred to Pufang Hospital.

Both EV71 and Cox A16 can cause HFMD, which usually starts with a slight fever followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet.

Those sickened by EV71 often show serious symptoms. It can also lead to meningitis, encephalitis, pulmonary edema and paralysis in some children. There is no vaccine.

China experiences summer outbreaks of the disease. The HFMD toll this year was 43 as of May 16, with thousands having been infected, according to Xinhua's tally of local official results.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)