http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand,_foot_and_mouth_disease
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a human syndrome caused by intestinal viruses of the Picornaviridae family. The most common strains causing HFMD are Coxsackie A virus and Enterovirus 71 (EV71).[1]
HFMD usually affects infants and children, and is quite common. It is highly contagious and is spread through direct contact with the mucus, saliva, or feces of an infected person. It typically occurs in small epidemics in nursery schools or kindergartens, usually during the summer and autumn months. The usual incubation period is 3-7 days.
It is extremely uncommon in adults; however, still a possibility. Most adults have strong enough immune systems to defeat the virus, but those with immune deficiencies are very susceptible. HFMD is not to be confused with foot-and-mouth disease (also called hoof-and-mouth disease), which is a disease affecting sheep, cattle, and swine, and which is unrelated to HFMD (but also caused by a member of the Picornaviridae family).
Signs & Symptoms
Symptoms of HFMD include:[2]
Fever
Headache
Fatigue
Malaise
Sore throat
Painful oral lesions
Non-itchy body rash, followed by sores with blisters on palms of hands and soles of feet
Oral ulcer
Sores or blisters may be present on the buttocks of small children and infants
Irritability in infants and toddlers
Loss of appetite.
The common incubation period (the time between infection and onset of symptoms) is from three to seven days.
Early symptoms are likely to be fever followed by a sore throat. Loss of appetite and general malaise may also occur. Between one and two days after the onset of fever, painful sores (lesions) may appear in the mouth and/or throat. A rash may become evident on the hands, feet, and occasionally the buttocks. Not all symptoms will be present in all cases.
Treatment
There is no specific treatment for hand, foot and mouth disease. Individual symptoms, such as fever, lameness, and pain from the sores, may be eased with the use of medication. HFMD is a viral disease that has to run its course; many doctors do not issue medicine for this illness, unless the infection is severe. Infection in older children, adolescents, and adults is normally very mild and lasts around 3 days or sometimes less. Fever reducers will help to control high temperatures. Luke-warm baths will also help bring temperature down.
Only a very small minority of sufferers require hospital admission, mainly as a result of neurological complications (encephalitis, meningitis, or acute flaccid paralysis) or pulmonary edema/pulmonary hemorrhage.
Recorded outbreaks
In 1997, 34 children died in an outbreak in Sarawak, Malaysia[3].
In 1998, there was an outbreak in Taiwan, affecting mainly children.[4] There were 405 severe complications, and 78 children died.[5] The total number of cases in that epidemic is estimated to have been 1.5 million.[5]
2006
In 2006, 7 people died in an outbreak in Kuching, Sarawak (according to the New Straits Times, March 14)]][6].
In 2006, after an outbreak of Chikungunya in southern and some western parts of India, cases of HFMD were reported. [7]
2007
April 15–21: 688 reported cases in Singapore.[8]
May 30: Over 30 reported cases in the Maldives.[9]
2008
March – May: Outbreak in Fuyang, Anhui, China (reported by media in April).[10] 22 children dead of the Enterovirus 71 (EV71), almost 3,000 infected.[11][12]
Late March – mid April: 2,600 cases reported in Singapore, no serious cases; 1000 cases reported in the week of April 14–20.[1]
May - There have been 28 deaths [13] and 8,500 reported cases ,of which 5,000 are in Anhui, 3 of the 26 have died in Guangdong[14] of the virus in children in China's Anhui province. Of the 26 deaths, 25 deaths were triggered by EV71.[1] A total of 11,905 cases of Hand-foot-mouth cases in China been reported so far.[2]
References
[1]Suhaimi, Nur Dianah. "HFMD: 1,000 cases a week is unusual, says doc", Singapore: The Sunday Times (Straits Times), April 20 2008, pp. pp. 1 - 2.
[2]Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease: Signs & Symptoms. mayoclinic.com. The Mayo Clinic. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
[3]See also reports from Sarawak Health Department http://www.sarawak.health.gov.my/hfmd.htm#INFO9
[4]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Deaths among children during an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease--Taiwan, Republic of China, April-July 1998. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1998;47:629-32. PMID 9704628.
[5] Ho M, Chen ER, Hsu KH, Twu SJ, Chen KT, Tsai SF, Wang JR, Shih SR. An epidemic of enterovirus 71 infection in Taiwan. Taiwan Enterovirus Epidemic Working Group. N Engl J Med 1999;341:929-35. PMID 10498487.
[6]See also reports from Sarawak Health Department http://www.sarawak.health.gov.my/hfmd.htm#INFO9
[7]The Hindu : Kerala News : Outbreak of rare child disease in Malappuram
[8]Channelnewsasia.com
[9]Travel Doctor - Health Alerts - Maldives Hand, foot and mouth Disease
[10]Mass intestinal virus infection kills 19 children -- XinHuaNet.com (Retrieved on May 2, 2008.)
[11]Mass intestinal virus infection in east China up to 2,477, kills 21 -- XinHuaNet.com (Retrieved on May 2, 2008.)
[12]China on alert as virus spreads
[13]Spreading virus kills 28 children (Retrieved on May 7, 2008.)
[14]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7383796.stm<ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/03/china.virus/index.html?eref=rss_topstories China on alert over deadly child virus] (Retrieved on May 3, 2008.)</li></ol></ref>
Original:Wikipedia
|
