HFMD: 585 hit, childcare centres on alert
Salma Khalik, Straits Times 27 Mar 08;
WITH Singapore on the verge of a possible outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), kindergartens and childcare centres across the island are on full alert.
Centres that have already seen children fall ill with the disease are checking their charges for telltale signs, such as mouth ulcers and red blisters.
An official from NTUC Childcare, which runs 39 centres, said temperatures are being taken up to twice a day in an attempt to halt the spread of the disease.
HFMD causes fever, sore throat, sores, ulcers in the mouth, and rashes on the palms, soles and buttocks. But complications can occur and the disease does kill, although very rarely. There is no medicine or vaccine for it.
The measures come as Health Ministry figures show Singapore on the cusp of a HFMD outbreak, the first since last June.
The ministry's latest weekly bulletin said 585 people came down with the virus last week, up from 409 the previous week. The increase coincides with the reopening of school after the week-long March break.
Although the disease has been cropping up at childcare centres, preschools and primary schools, the Health Ministry said none had been asked to close their doors.
The disease is endemic and outbreaks occur regularly. It affects mostly very young children, although adults can catch the virus. It is transmitted through bodily fluids like saliva.
The best way to prevent its spread, say doctors, is to wash your hands before eating and after going to the toilet, and to cover the mouth when coughing or sneezing.
The enterovirus which causes the disease has been particularly active this year, infecting 50 per cent more people than last year over the same period. So far, 3,721 people have caught the virus this year.
The last time the weekly infection figure was this high was during the seven-week outbreak in May and June last year.
NTUC Childcare has seen several children contract the disease. Aside from checking the children, it also disinfects mattresses before and after the kids take their naps.
Parents of a child suspected of having the disease are told to take the kid home. The child has to be certified infection-free by a doctor before he is allowed back at the centre, said an official.
One toddler who caught the virus was 20-month-old Sean. He was infected by his uncle, said his mother, Madam Daphne Chan, yesterday. He continued the chain and passed the virus to his mother, who ended up with a week's sick leave earlier this month.
Madam Chan said she had to keep Sean home for about 10 days and get a doctor to certify that he was no longer infectious, before he could return to the childcare centre. No other child there has caught the disease.
