China is facing a serious situation in the control of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) with 41,846 cases recorded so far this year as of Thursday, resulting in the deaths of 18 infants, a senior health official said on Friday.

"The epidemic is getting worse and infections are expected to peak between May and July," Deng Haihua, director of the information office of the Ministry of Health (MOH), told a press conference.

"From now on, the daily reported cases will keep increasing in the relatively long term," said CDC Deputy Director Yang Weizhong.

China recorded 27,499 HFMD cases between January and May last year.

"This year's outbreak is earlier and more intense," Yang said.

Seventy-five percent of this year's HFMD cases were caused by the enterovirus 71 (EV71), although more than 20 viruses could cause the disease, Yang said.

He said that the unusually high winter and spring temperatures may have caused the outbreak.

The ministry has sent teams to the two hardest-hit counties, Shandong's Heze and Henan's Minquan, to begin work on research, disinfection, technical training and public education.

But Deng said the teams had yet to find the source of the disease.

As of Thursday, Henan had reported 4,761 HFMD cases, among which 419 were from Minquan. Neighboring Shandong province had reported 3,280 cases. Of the 18 fatalities, seven were reported in Henan and five in Shandong.

As early as February, the MOH held a meeting to step up nationwide prevention and control of the disease, and a national teleconference was held last Friday to deal with the recent outbreak.

Henan provincial health department has strengthened surveillance and sent necessary medical equipment to local hospitals. Officials have been warned that they will be severely punished if they fail in their duties.

In Heze, free disinfectant and medicine is being provided for children under 7. Twelve hospitals have been assigned to deal with HFMD cases.

Last May, the rising number of HFMD infections caused the ministry to list it as a class-C epidemic, which means that all incidences must be reported.

Children under 5 account for 93.96 percent of the 41,846 cases reported so far this year, according to ministry statistics.

Qian Suyun, director of emergency center of Beijing Children's Hospital, said doctors are using life-support machines and gamma globulin to relieve infected children's symptoms as there is no effective medicine to cure the disease.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization endorsed China's measures to control the disease. Vivian Tan, communications officer of the WHO office in China, said: "The actions China has taken are quite effective."