Kunming media is reporting that beginning today, all Kindergarteners in the city will be checked each morning for signs of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). The precautionary measure is being taken as the number of HFMD cases in the eastern province of Anhui climbed to 5,151 over the weekend.

The HFMD outbreak, caused by the intestinal virus Enterovirus 71, has infected children in the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Guangdong, with 22 fatalities reported in Anhui and three in Guangdong.

No cases of HFMD have been reported in Yunnan or its neighboring regions of Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan or Tibet.

HFMD is a common and highly contagious disease that generally affects infants and children, with outbreaks typically taking place in nursery schools or Kindergartens. Symptoms include fever, blisters or ulcers around the mouth and rashes on the hands or feet. No vaccine is currently available. HFMD is unrelated to foot-and-mouth disease, which affects livestock.

According to Xinhua, the central government has formed an HFMD task force that will focus on containing the disease's spread.