Foot-and-mouth Disease: 28 Kindergartens Closed

[george]

Disease shuts down schools

BANGKOK: -- Twenty-eight kindergartens and nurseries in Bangkok have been closed for seven to ten days after children were diagnosed with foot-and-mouth disease.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) sent its teams of epidemiologists and public health officials to provide information to schools and nurseries about the disease which is spreading among children aged 3-10.

Bangkok deputy governor Pensri Pichaisanit said teachers and caretakers were advised to check on their children for any sign of the illness.

Children with fever, lesions in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet must be sent home immediately and told to stay away from school as the disease is highly contagious.

Dr Pensri said the BMA would not take any chances. Schools with even a single case of foot-and-mouth disease would be closed for seven to ten days. The incubation period is two to six days.

So far, the disease has been detected at 28 schools and nurseries in Bangkok. They have all been closed.

--Bangkok Post 2005-07-15

[ozzydom]

Disease shuts down schools

BANGKOK: -- Twenty-eight kindergartens and nurseries in Bangkok have been closed for seven to ten days after children were diagnosed with foot-and-mouth disease.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) sent its teams of epidemiologists and public health officials to provide information to schools and nurseries about the disease which is spreading among children aged 3-10.

Bangkok deputy governor Pensri Pichaisanit said teachers and caretakers were advised to check on their children for any sign of the illness.

Children with fever, lesions in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet must be sent home immediately and told to stay away from school as the disease is highly contagious.

Dr Pensri said the BMA would not take any chances. Schools with even a single case of foot-and-mouth disease would be closed for seven to ten days. The incubation period is two to six days.

So far, the disease has been detected at 28 schools and nurseries in Bangkok. They have all been closed.

--Bangkok Post 2005-07-15

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Imagine scores of farang cattle owners looked at the heading and had a sudden heart attack.

[Pattaya_Fox]

Does anyone know the correct name for this disease in humans? By looking at the headline one would think that it was the same as the foot and mouth disease which cattle have.

As far as I am aware the cattle foot and mouth disease cannot be passed from human to human.

[RamdomChances]

Imagine scores of farang cattle owners looked at the heading and had a sudden heart attack.

Not really, we vacinate

Foot and mouth can be spread to people- this from http://www.merckvetmanual.com

 

Disease..................................Foot-and-mouth disease

Causative Organism...........Foot-and-mouth disease virus (aphthovirus types A, O, C, SAT, and Asia) 

Principal Animals Involved.........Cattle, swine, related cloven-hoofed animals 

Known Distribution....................Europe, Asia, Africa, South America

Probable Means of Spread to Man.........Contact exposure; people quite resistant but can be carriers

[stiggy]

I had this as a kid in Essex Uk nearly 23 yrs ago,Myself and another girl where the only two in our county to catch it following a school trip to Maldon.

Lots of Drs poking us about, A bit Sick for two days then spotty for about three weeks,

Of school the whole time then in isalation for another month Feeling fine apart from first two days......

Spotty sores in mouth Spots on palms of hands and soles of feet.

If it happened now in UK id probably be exterminated

[Goldenbead]

This disease is not the same thing found in animals. It is actually called hand, foot and mouth disease and is very common and usually very mild in children.

It is highly contagious and I think the reason they are taking it so seriously is that about 4 years ago, there was a rogue strain of this disease that killed several children in Singapore and Malaysia.

What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common illness of infants and children. It is characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, and a rash with blisters. HFMD begins with a mild fever, poor appetite, malaise ("feeling sick"), and frequently a sore throat. One or 2 days after the fever begins, painful sores develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. They are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks. The skin rash develops over 1 to 2 days with flat or raised red spots, some with blisters. The rash does not itch, and it is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It may also appear on the buttocks. A person with HFMD may have only the rash or the mouth ulcers.

Is HFMD the same as foot-and-mouth disease?

No. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth disease of cattle, sheep, and swine. Although the names are similar, the two diseases are not related at all and are caused by different viruses. For information on foot-and-mouth disease, please visit the web site of the US Department of Agriculture at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/fmd/fmd.html

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm

[Pattaya_Fox]

Thank you Goldenbead for that information.

[bina]

same thread a month ago. its called hand foot and mouth and not the ruminants/grazer animals version .... all info in past post of same ... its an enterovirus, usually not deadly, and dont know why it even makes the news unless there's nothing else to write about, or to detract from escalating situations elsewhere....

[chuchok]

As long as you dirty buggers that have been exposed to this illness..never go to New Zealand....It would bankrupt my country.

[ozzydom]

As long as you dirty buggers that have been exposed to this illness..never go to New Zealand....It would bankrupt my country.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then the All Blacks would spread it all over the world while they are making kissy kissy in the scrums

[siamkia8]

same thread a month ago. its called hand foot and mouth and  not the ruminants/grazer animals version .... all info in past post of same ... its an enterovirus, usually not deadly, and dont know why it even makes the news unless there's nothing else to write about, or to detract from escalating situations elsewhere....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

so you think the Thai Government is wrong for closing 28 schools and nurseries in Bangkok for 7 to 10 days because of the HFMD?. To you may be not deadly but these are childrens who are infected are suffering indeed. The Thai Government made the right decision to close those schools and nuseries affected by HFMD to prevent escelation of the disease. You have your right to comment but the journalist are doing the job very well.

[Scott]

Of course it is the right thing to do to close the schools down. They do need to do the work to locate the cause etc.

[bina]

the virus that causes hfmd is always present where there are young children; proper hygiene: paper towels, liquid soap, properly washed dishes , properly washed hands of the caretakers, and cleaning with chlorax type solutions all bedding, toys that are handled or mouthed by children, etc... (didnt see any of this in the shcool i worked at in ban chiang)

once a child is sympotmatic, he has already infected everyone else, the use of analgesic mouth gels like those for teething babies helps against the pain, liquid room temperature food etc is best treatmeny for those that do not have high fevers; for infants under three months if not breast feeding, may need hospitalization due to dehydraation as they dont want to eat...

we get this every single year here in the holy land in the children's houses, kindergartens etc... the child who is sick must stay home but no school is ever closed ; the two main seasons for us are fall and spring for some reason...

yemenite grandmothers say that unpasteurized goats milk straight from the teat works much faster to get rid of the sores, i have people taking milk from me for this reason all the time, even the doctors in the gov't med. care recommend this (from vaccinated goats); maybe in thailand, someone could try buffalo milk although i was told that goats milk has high level of chlorine in it so this be the reason

i never heard of this disease til i moved to israel so i suspect that tropic/semi tropical and 'third world' type conditions (hygiene) make it more prevalent

all my kids got htis , one daughter seemed really more susceptable than my other two, by age 10 no one has got it any moreprobably cause by ten years old they dont put every thing in their mouths and dont share things that their mouths touched.

this disease re occurs every single year in thailand also (there was a news item half a year ago at least on very same subject)... i am wondering why the malaria and dengue fever news items suddenly disappeared, thats all.....those diseases kill, but they also effect tourism, so .......also the avian flue seems to appear in the news and then all of a sudden, disappear again......

[Nam Kao]

Fuel for more $$$ requests i am sure