A hand-foot-mouth outbreak in east China's Shandong Province has claimed its second victim as a 14-month-old boy succumbed in the city of Linyi on Saturday, officials in Jinan reported.

Sixty-one new cases were reported on Sunday, the provincial health department announced, with 27 patients hospitalized, bringing the number of those in health institutions to 191.

The child first entered Linyi People's Hospital on Saturday morning after developing a fever and blisters but his condition deteriorated and he passed away on Saturday evening. This was the second death after a two-year-old girl died from the disease on April 29.

Hand-foot-mouth disease, also known as coxsackievirus infection, is a childhood illness that is particularly dangerous to children under 10. Symptoms of the mildly contagious disease often begin with a soar throat, progressing to a fever, mouth sores and a rash with blisters. 

The city has reported 981 cases of disease since April, with 609 of the victims now recovered, according to the department. The outbreak seems to be localized in the counties and townships around Linyi City.

Local health departments have launched a public awareness campaign to remind parents that ensuring they and their children wash their hands regularly can prevent the spread of the disease.  A provincial health taskforce, comprised of three teams of experts, is on hand to help control the epidemic.

Shandong saw two fatalities from hand-foot-mouth in 2006 and one in 2005, among 5,507 cases.

(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2007)