Ten more children have died in a hand-foot-mouth disease outbreak in China's Henan and Shandong provinces as of Sunday, local health authorities said Tuesday.

In central Henan Province, five more children have died of the disease, bringing the death toll to 34, said Zhou Yong, director of the Information Office with the Henan Provincial Health Department.

The dead were among the 52,012 cases reported in Henan, 924 up from the figure released on April 23, Zhou said.

According to Zhou, 16,159 children have been hospitalized, 14,456 of whom have left hospital.

But the province is still facing challenges in controlling the disease as the period of May-July is a peak season for the hand-foot-mouth disease, he warned.

In eastern Shandong Province, five more children died of the disease as of Sunday, bringing the death toll to 27, the Shandong Provincial Health Department said in a statement.

The province reported 34,585 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease, 5,447 of whom are still in hospital, including 987 in serious condition, the statement said.

Hand-foot-mouth disease is a common childhood illness that mainly affects children under the age of 10. Symptoms include fever, sores in the mouth and a rash with blisters. It can sometimes be fatal if complications occur.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2009)