Across Ho Chi Minh City, the cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease among children are spreading at a disturbing rate. Specifically, at noon of September 26, 179 hand-foot-mouth kids stayed in the Infection ward.
Around 30 of them were in critical condition; ten of them were put on ventilator and five of them were undergoing blood transfusion.
Carrying her infant in the hospital lobby, the mother of a 19 year-old boy in Binh Tan District said that her kid had no fever and rashes on the feet and hands but vomiting a lot two days ago. Local doctors said the baby had sore throat prescribing drugs.
However, the baby vomited a lot in the midnight; consequently, he was taken to the hospital where doctor diagnosed him to have hand-foot-mouth caused by Ev71.
Dr. Khanh said that studies showed that the number of hand-foot-mouth kid patients caused by virus Ev71 was low in years ago, yet EV71 infection has lately caused hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in over 50 percent of cases.
Hand-foot-mouth kids caused by virus Ev71 can have complications such as neurological and pulmonary edema, heart attack, shock and death. one hand-foot-mouth fatal case was reported at the Children Hospital No. 1.
Information of the disease has spread to people and parents’ awareness of it is much better. This year, increasing cases with more serious cases, parents should take heed to it especially their kids below three years old.
Parents should take the kids to medical facilities when kids have high fever in two days and vomit a lot, said Dr. Khanh. He added moreover, an another symptom of the illness if kids start to have startle response while sleeping.
Head of the municipal Preventive Medicine Center’s contagious disease control ward Dr. Le Hong Nga warned the city is entering the peak season of hand-foot-mouth with hospitalization of nearly 290 cases, up 47 percent against the four weeks before.
To control and prevent the disease, the health watchdog ordered medical facilities to enhance supervision in preschools and adopt measures against it.
There is no way to treat or prevent HFMD, said Dr. Nga, accordingly, the best way is to wash parents and children’s hands with soap and clean and sanitize toys and other items.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is the result of a viral infection. Symptoms include rashes on the feet and hands and painful blisters around the nose and mouth. Severe cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) may require medical attention, but the condition usually clears up without intervention.
