Outbreak Of Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease

[george]

Outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease

BANGKOK: -- An outbreak of the hand, foot and mouth disease has forced a private school in Bangkok's Lat Phrao area to close.

It has closed voluntarily for 'a certain period of time' after the outbreak of the hand-foot-mouth disease, a senior city official told TNA on Thursday.

"In principle, the school has to close for two weeks, but as there have been no new cases found over the past week, we will ask the school to close just for 'a certain period of time' when officials of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will make inspections until we are confident that the disease won't come back", Mr. Sithisat Chiamwongpaet, the Acting Director of the BMA's Health Department, told TNA yesterday.

Eleven students at the school had contracted the disease between late January and 7 February, but they have fully recovered.

The school closure will allow it to entirely cleaned, said Mr. Sithisat.

The disease is caused by a Coxsackie’s group A virus.

It causes reddish blisters on the hands, feet, rectum and lips. It also produces mouth ulcers.

The disease will disappear without medication after the fever subsides, said Mr. Sithisat.

There have been thirteen reported cases of the hand, foot and mouth disease in Thailand’s four northern provinces of Chiang Rai, Lampang, Nan and Petchabun between late January and 5 February.

None of theses were fatal, according to the Director of the Bureau of General Communicable Diseases, Dr. Sirisak Warintrawat.

--TNA 2005-02-18

[taxexile]

"In principle, the school has to close for two weeks, but as there have been no new cases found over the past week, we will ask the school to close just for 'a certain period of time' when officials of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will make inspections until we are confident that the disease won't come back", Mr. Sithisat Chiamwongpaet, the Acting Director of the BMA's Health Department, told TNA yesterday.

shortcuts , quickfixes and ignoring principles and good practice.

welcome to thailand, hub of blistered rectums !

[Thetyim]

"It causes reddish blisters on the hands, feet, rectum and lips. It also produces mouth ulcers"

So why is it not called Hands, feet, mouth and bum disease ?

[sriracha john]

welcome to thailand, hub of blistered rectums !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the more I read that, the more i laughed....

where's huski's quote of the day moniker??

[sriracha john]

"In principle, the school has to close for two weeks, but as there have been no new cases found over the past week, we will ask the school to close just for 'a certain period of time' when officials of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)

shortcuts , quickfixes and ignoring principles and good practice.

I'm ok now... thanks for wondering.

On a much, more more serious note now, one can insert bird flu and chicken culls into the above statement by the BMA.

And your absolutely right, Tax.... it's the same sort of shortcuts, quickfixes and ignoring priniciples of good practice that has also been exactly what has also allowed the avian flu debacle... (it is a debacle, agreed everyone?)... to continue.

[tuky]

welcome to thailand, hub of blistered rectums !

huski's quote of the day goes to tax

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

In my country, when livestock get Foot and Mouth we slaughter them all, chuck them in a pit and bulldoze the earth over. People are then banned from going to the vicinity.

Why are these precautions not taken here?

Coxsackie’s group A virus

Thats a great name for a virus.

Edited February 18, 2005 by The_Eye_Of_Sauron

[sriracha john]

In my country, when livestock get Foot and Mouth we slaughter them all, chuck them in a pit and bulldoze the earth over. People are then banned from going to the vicinity.

Why are these precautions not taken here?

They are probably contemplating the same treatment for the Thai school-children as what they do to the cattle in your country.

Coxsackie’s group A virus

Thats a great name for a virus.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hahahaha... I somehow imagine the cartoon character of this virus wearing some sort of cape and sporting a large bulge in his spandex suit.

dum de dummmm!!.... Look out, here it comes!! It's Captain Coxsackie!!

[bina]

not the same as the livestock one and u dont die from it; common among school children, runs thru groups at a time, we get it a lot here among the kindergarten age groups in israel.... problem is dehydration cause kids dont want to eat or dirnk as mouth hurts they salivate a lot, etc.... people here get goats milk straight from the teat to rub on sores, the yemenite grannies swear by this and ask me for goat milk all the time at the zoo..... i think there are other nasty diseases u can get fromthe milk so .... up to yuuuu......there are a couple of related viruses that kids get that all are called' hoof and mouth ' all same symptoms etc.... babies are hospitalized and get iv fluids... onkibbutz we sterilize all toys etc, disposable towels, proper hygiene of nannies (caretakers), and in home and siblings.... separate eating untensils etc. (how do they do tis in thailand when peopel eat together, like i saw at the school in ban chiang, and the kids wash theire own utensils in cold water???)

our livestock are all vaccinated agains the hoof and mouth disease that destroys livestock its the law here

Foot-and-Mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cattle, sheep, pigs and a variety of other domestic and wild cloven-hoofed animals. Humans infection is extremely rare, but can occur in association with direct contact with infected tissue. The disease is caused any of several serotypes of the Picornaviridae/Aphthovirus family. The seven most common serotypes, called A, O, C, Asia1, SAT-1, SAT-2, and SAT-3, each contain many subtypes. The current strain has been named the Pan Asian variety.

notice, it is the same stupid laymens term name, but not the same disease... and for once i;m glad im in a third world country and we still vaccinate for this stuff.....

Edited February 18, 2005 by bina

[george]

Govt downplays hand, foot and mouth situation

BANGKOK: -- Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan yesterday sought to downplay concerns over a recent outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease at a Bangkok school, stressing that the strain of the virus found in Thailand was less virulent than that found abroad.

Mrs. Sudarat made her comments during a visit to a private bilingual school in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao district, which has been temporarily closed since 11 pupils were discovered to have contracted the disease.

Leading a team of journalists to inspect the school, Mrs. Sudarat said that her ministry was taking a three-pronged approach to solving the problem and ensure that the virus remained confined to the school.

Samples from the throats and faeces of the infected children are being sent for analysis, with results expected within a week, while examinations will also be conducted on 80 other children who came into close contact with them.

The school, meanwhile, has been ordered to clean its equipment as a matter of urgency, as well as clean its ventilation system in order to eliminate the virus.

The 11 infected children will be closely supervised by doctors from the Department of Disease Control, and will not be allowed to return to school until medics are certain that they are free of the disease.

According to Dr. Vichai Tienthavorn, the Permanent Secretary for Public Health, around 800-1,000 people in Thailand contract hand, foot and mouth disease every year.

The majority of cases are explained by the coxsackie virus, a relatively mild form of the disease compared to strains often encountered elsewhere.

Government figures show 53 cases of the virus so far this year in Thailand, with 95 percent of the victims being kindergarten-age children.

Symptoms of the disease include low fevers, appetite loss, sore throats, spots on the tongues and gums, and spots on the palms and soles of the feet.

The disease can be contracted through contact with the mucus, saliva or faeces of those infected.

--TNA 2005-02-19