BEIJING, April 30 (Reuters) - Chinese health officials on Wednesday tried to calm public fears about a virus that has killed at least 20 children, saying the situation did not resemble 2003's SARS epidemic and there had been no cover-up.

They said people could take simple hygiene steps to prevent the spread of enterovirus 71, or EV71, which began spreading in Fuyang in the eastern province of Anhui in early March but was only publicly reported on Sunday. "You can't talk about EV71 and SARS in the same breath. SARS was a new infectious disease, and anyone could be infected. SARS was also very deadly," Yang Weizhong, deputy chief of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Web cast on central government site www.gov.cn.

The delay in reporting the virus to the public has triggered heated discussion and criticism in the Chinese media, which said local government officials should be sacked.

An initial cover-up of the SARS epidemic led to the sacking of Beijing's mayor and the health minister.

But Yang said the reason for the delay in this case was because medical teams were trying to work out what the illness was.

"In the initial stages of the probe a lot of effort was expended, to rule out some serious infectious diseases like SARS, bird flu and meningitis," he added.

Chen Xianyi, head of the Ministry of Health's emergency response department, said that the epidemic had been reported to the central authorities in time.

"The confirming of the cause of this illness, the raising of the treatment rate and clear improvement in preventative measures all came from the hard work of the central government, province, city and county. So I think it was reported in time," he said.

By Tuesday, the virus had killed 20 children, most under the age of two.

Enteroviruses spread mostly through contact with infected blisters or faeces and can cause high fever, paralysis and swelling of the brain or its lining.

There is no vaccine or antiviral agent available to treat or prevent the virus. Instead, treatment focuses on managing its complications, which can include meningitis and heart failure, according to the World Health Organisation.

Yang urged families to wash their hands often, eat well-cooked food and properly ventilate rooms.

"This is a seasonal disease, but it can also be prevented," he added. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)

AlertNet news is provided by