After the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) took the lives of six children in Ho Chi Minh City this year, the Department of Student Affairs has been ordered to curb the spread of the disease in all education centers.
The Preventative Health Department has asked teachers in nursery schools to keep a strict eye on small kids and be alert to any symptoms of fever and rash on the hands, feet, mouth and tongue, while immediately informing parents and hospitals.
Any child with suspected symptoms must remain indoors for at least 10 days. The school should also give leave to a class having two sick children for a minimum of 10 days. The school is required to sanitize toys and other items in the class with Chloramine B disinfectant as well as boil bowls, chopsticks and spoons in hot water to kill infection.
Six children died of HFMD this year while only one died from the disease last year. Nguyen Dac Tho, deputy director of the HCMC Health Center, said 1,200 HFMD cases have been recorded in the city this year, a year-on-year increase of 100 percent. In April alone, three children died of the 595 that were admitted to hospital for HFMD treatment.
Most child patients came from Tan Binh, Binh Thanh, Tan Phu and Go Vap districts of HCMC.
According to Dr. Truong Huu Khanh of Children’s Hospital No.1, the number of children admitted to city-based hospitals for HFMD has risen.
Inspectors from the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Training in HCMC will pay visits to pre-schools to monitor the anti-disease program from May 13.
Pham Viet Thanh, director of the Department of Health, said around 70 percent of the patients were below three years of age.
HFMD is mildly contagious and spreads through direct contact with mucus, saliva or the faeces of an infected person. It occurs in small epidemics in nursery schools or kindergartens, usually during the summer and autumn months. The usual incubation period is 3–7 days. Typical symptoms include a fever, sore throat and a rash on the hands, feet, mouth and tongue or under the cheeks.
