An outbreak of a lethal intestinal virus that started in March in east China's Anhui Province had killed 20 children and befallen 1,884 others by Tuesday noon, an official said on Wednesday.

Yang Weizhong, deputy chief of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "No new death cases had occurred over the past five days."

The outbreak happened in Fuyang City.

Enterovirus 71, or EV71, can cause a hand, foot and mouth disease that usually starts with a slight fever followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and on the hands and feet.

It may cause high fever, meningitis, encephalitis, pulmonary edema and paralysis in a small number of children. Paralysis is more common in children under two years and meningitis is more common in children of 2-5 years, Yang said.

Infections could lead to high mortalities in serious cases and neither vaccine nor therapeutic treatment was available.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2008)