The number of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) cases in Zhejiang Province rose by nearly 4,000 to 5,132 in about five days, the local health administration said Friday.

A local health official said the increase reflects enhanced reporting system. It doesn't mean an outbreak of the disease yet.

Among the infections, 26 tested positive for EV71, a virus that can cause a severe form of the disease.

So far, four patients are in critical conditions and 288 children are receiving treatment in hospital.

Zhejiang registered 1,198 HFMD cases as of May 4, including one death.

The drastic increase in the number of infections does not indicate a severe outbreak of the disease, but was partly due to a recent order by the Ministry of Health that made reporting of HFMD incidence to the government mandatory, according to Zhang Ping, spokesman with the provincial health authority.

"It is not a large-scale outbreak as the cases scatter around the province without any concentration in one particular place," Zhang said.

People's awareness of the disease has improved and local health organizations have strengthened monitoring and reporting, which also jointly drove up the number of patients, Zhang added.

In addition to launching morning check-ups in kindergartens and primary schools, the local government has reinforced surveillance on children moving in from other HFMD-hit regions, Zhang said.

He added that financial aid has been offered to families that are unable to afford the medical expenses for their children.

HFMD is caused by up to 20 types of virus such as the EV 71, Coxsackie A16 and Echo virus but has similar symptoms like a slight fever and rashes on hands and feet, and most of the cases involve young children under six.

So far, EV 71 is blamed for most of the 34 HFMD deaths in China.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2008)