More H-F-M-D cases here noted
PANGASINAN registered the most number of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (H-F-M-D) in Region 1 from January to August 2.
According to Department of Health Region 1, out of 78 cases, Pangasinan reported 47 cases while La Union had 16, Ilocos Norte, 11 and Ilocos Sur, 5.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a mild yet contagious viral infection common in children, characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. It is commonly caused by a coxsackievirus.
There’s no specific treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease, but frequent hand-washing and avoiding close contact with people who are infected with the disease.
Symptoms include fever, sore throat, feeling of being unwell (malaise), painful, red, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks, a red rash, without itching but sometimes with blistering, on the palms, soles and sometimes the buttocks, irritability in infants and toddlers, and loss of appetite.
The illness spreads by person-to-person contact with an infected person’s nasal secretions or throat discharge, saliva, fluid from blisters, stool, respiratory droplets sprayed into the air after a cough or sneeze.
DOH encourages parents to have their children checked if the mouth sores or a sore throat keeps them from drinking fluids. (Melody Valenton)
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