East China's Jiangxi Province has recorded 21 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease this year, but no deaths have been reported, local health authorities said Sunday.

Ten cases were caused by the intestinal virus enterovirus 71 (EV71), while the others were caused by the Coxsackie A16 virus, another kind of enterovirus, said a Jiangxi Provincial Disease Prevention and Control Center official.

The number of hand-foot-mouth disease cases was almost the same as last year. People should follow preventive measures but do not need to panic, the official said.

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

Coxsackie A16 virus causes most cases of hand, foot and mouth syndrome. The major features are painful mouth ulcers and blisters on the palms, fingers and soles.

There has been a large outbreak of EV71 in Anhui Province, where the death toll in Fuyang city has risen to 22 since early March.

Two children have also died from the EV71 virus in south China's Guangdong Province, the provincial health department said on Saturday.

China has tallied 4,987 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in the provinces of Anhui, Hubei and Shaanxi this year, most of which were confirmed to be caused by the EV 71 virus.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2008)