Number of hand, foot and mouth disease patients double in Thai capital

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Number of hand, foot and mouth disease patients double in Thai capital
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, July 29 -- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reported that the number of patients infected with hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) have doubled since last year, with 85 per cent of the patients being children under age 5.

Dr Wongwat Liewlak, director of the Communicable Disease Control Division in the BMA Department of Health, said the latest figure of infected patients with the disease in Bangkok, from the beginning of the year until July stands at 4,695; twice that of last year.

No deaths have yet been reported from the disease.

The physician, however, pointed out that the rising figure was not because the disease has become stronger, but because the disease usually spread during the this time of year, where 85 per cent of the people infected were children under the age of 5.

He added that the disease has recently been found to spread in the capital's Khlong Sam Wa and Phra Khanong districts.

Prevention measures against the spread of the disease remained to the same, he said, adding that strict examinations should be carried out to determine infected children to immediately separate them from their peers to prevent further spreading.

Besides, all schools should take precautions by improving their hygiene within school grounds, particularly shared items and locations, like toys and classrooms, as the disease is normally passed through saliva.

Meanwhile, BMA Health Department director Dr Wantanee Wattana said the number of patients so far found to have contracted the disease was not yet out of control.

She stressed that all schools must carry out strict prevention measures and if more than two classrooms in each class level have students infected with the disease, the schools must consider temporary closure and clearly inform each parent of the situation without withholding information. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-07-29

[boomerangutang]

The article doesn't describe the disease, other than a photo of a hand and a mention of saliva. If better informed, then perhaps people at risk could be better able to take precautionary action.

[harber8]

No surprise with the quality of hygiene in most schools here. The Kindergarden kids running around in the toilets then running in the classroom, hands all over the floor, watered down soap. Shoes on, shoes off, Mai pen rai. Ensuring foreigners are carrying ID seems to be higher on the agenda right now. Thai-tanic !! And ASEAN is the iceberg .

Edited July 29, 2014 by harber8

[VINCENT2012]

higiene, and higiene again....i am sick of saying it where i live to try to help them.....but anyway .. just look around of you... how thai clean themself with the bucket everywhere..only on the top ..with a tower around....but never beetween the legs into the hole....where the shit is...sorry i should not speak like this because to them it is a tabu, but it is true .and no government and nobody say anything, they teach nothing to the population, just alow stupid programs on tv full of publicity all day long.....when people smile or buy they dont think..................thats what they want, people to be untertained.

desease ...well sorry poor ignorants...you should have done this or you should have done that

what a pity....anyway thais dont listen to things diferent, they laugh on it before.

[Jaggg88]

Yep! Its all about Hygiene - not something Thais in general are very good at but I have noticed a marked improvement in recent years. I even spotted my mother in-law using my antibacterial soap once

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/preventive-care/how-to-prevent-childhood-infections2.htm

[Gonsalviz]

It is called Thrush. It is easily contacted and easily gotten rid of. While nothing to ignore, it is equally nothing to be alarmed about.

[sometimewoodworker]

It is called Thrush. It is easily contacted and easily gotten rid of. While nothing to ignore, it is equally nothing to be alarmed about.

No it isn't.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by a group of viruses known as enteroviruses. The most common types of viruses that can cause the condition are:

coxsackievirus A16, A6 or A10

enterovirus 71

Enterovirus 71 carries a higher risk of causing serious complications

Treating hand, foot and mouth disease

There is currently no cure for hand, foot and mouth disease, so treatment involves making your child feel as comfortable as possible while waiting for the infection to take its course.

Possible treatment options include:

using paracetamol, ibuprofen and mouth gels to relieve the pain of mouth ulcers

drinking plenty of fluids to help relieve a high temperature

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection that can affect young children.

It doesn't usually pose a serious threat to a child's health, but it can be be an unpleasant condition, particularly if it affects younger children.

Typical symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease include:

cold-like symptoms, such as loss of appetite, cough and a moderately high temperature of around 38-39°C (100.4-102.2°F)

a non-itchy red rash, made up of spots or small fluid-filled sacs (vesicles), which usually develops on the hands and feet, but may also occur on the knees, elbows, groin and buttocks; sometimes the rash can develop into painful blisters

painful mouth ulcers

[maryjoanna]

7-11 checkout chick had an ulcer on the side of her mouth that she was touching repeatedly while talking to me.

i had though it was from doing things orally and made a menal note not to attempt going forth and multiply, but now i think perhaps it was this instead. still not multiplying though.

hope i dont catch it. she was preparing my food bacon smokey bite,

Edited July 29, 2014 by maryjoanna

[mad mary]

7-11 checkout chick had an ulcer on the side of her mouth that she was touching repeatedly while talking to me.

i had though it was from doing things orally but now i think perhaps it was this instead.

hope i dont catch it. she was preparing my food bacon smokey bite,

Did you have the munchies?

[kinmaew]

Covering up those stinking klongs may be a good start. Could anyone be bothered to do that?

[OZEMADE]

No surprise with the quality of hygiene in most schools here. The Kindergarden kids running around in the toilets then running in the classroom, hands all over the floor, watered down soap. Shoes on, shoes off, Mai pen rai. Ensuring foreigners are carrying ID seems to be higher on the agenda right now. Thai-tanic !! And ASEAN is the iceberg .

It's not only Thailand, I see where there has been an outbreak of the same hand, foot and mouth disease in Wollongong NSW Australia. The kids are picking it up at the Kindergarten and schools for the same reason, poor hygiene. This is a nation that has been taught about hygiene.

[Kru Baa]

I work in a school and there is no soap in any of the bathrooms. I have told them many times to put soap in the bathrooms these kids aren't washing their hands. At best you see some of the older kids just running water over their hands, with no soap. But let's not worry about that.Lets worry about these foreigners (who bring money into the country) carrying their passports at all times and don't let them re-enter the country when they do a border run. Priorities you know.

[boomerangutang]

The cleanest bathrooms in my Thai town, not counting resorts, are Muslim restaurants. Plus, they have soap in them! It so happens I like Muslim food better than Thai, so it works out well for me.

[Krataiboy]

It is called Thrush. It is easily contacted and easily gotten rid of. While nothing to ignore, it is equally nothing to be alarmed about.

I do wish posters would check their facts before pontificating - particularly on medical matters. Thrush is systemic yeast infection, whereas hand foot and mouth is caused by a virus. The two are totally different conditions requiring different treatments.