Over 2,000 Sabah HFMD cases
Published on: Thursday, August 02, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: A total of 2,200 hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases have been recorded in Sabah out of the 40,198 reported nationwide to date. With an average of 73 cases a week, Sabah has also seen seven schools (out of nine nationwide) ordered shut down. The other two schools are in Penang and Pahang. Selangor had the most cases (12,000).This is in addition to the shutdown of four taska, 10 kindergartens and preschools, as well as four classes in Beaufort, Sandakan and Tawau. ADVERTISEMENT Though not fatal, HFMD can bring excruciating pain to children. Raw, white ulcers can fill their mouth cavity making them unable to eat.HFMD is infectious, especially among children in daycare centres and kindergartens.The virus spreads when it comes in contact with saliva, blisters and stools of patients, and most of the infections are mild with symptoms of fever and blisters on the hand, foot, mouth and tongue.Almost all patients with HFMD recover without treatment in seven to 10 days.ADVERTISEMENT In Sabah alone, HFMD cases were detected in almost all districts with the most in Kota Kinabalu, Beaufort, Sandakan and Penampang. Although not alarming, the Health Ministry is not taking any chances and has reminded people particularly preschool operators to comply with the HFMD prevention tips.
ADVERTISEMENT
Among tips are to wash hands regularly and observe general hygiene measures. "As I mentioned, we have made a stand that there is no need for aggressive intervention except to observe matters such as gate keeping procedures and point of entry for preschool premises," Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told a media conference at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1, here, Wednesday.He said they have also instructed, especially preschool operators, to ensure individual cleanliness of the children as well as the environment. He said it was important to control and prevent and the best was to prevent children from getting infected by closing affected preschools, adding however that it has reached that point in general. "If we get to do all this, we don't need any interventionist, we hope to see a lower trend within the week," he said. He said the Ministry has also conducted collaboration with other agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Welfare Services Department and the Jabatan Perpaduan Negara, noting that all have agreed to work together towards preventing further spread of the HFMD."Most important is awareness and support from everyone including preschool operators to comply with the HFMD prevention tips," he said. In TAWAU, eight children's nurseries and kindergartens as well one classroom in a primary school were closed after nine HFMD cases were detected in the district in the past two weeks. District Health Department Officer Dr G. Navindran said the nine cases were among 120 reported in the district since January. "Actually, we've been getting two to three HFMD cases in Tawau each month but without any report of complications," he said, and advised schools and parents to strictly observe cleanliness.He also encouraged schools to provide hand sanitisers in toilets and canteens.To parents, he said they must immediately send their children to the nearest hospitals if they show initial symptoms of the disease."And when the disease is detected, they must cooperate by making sure their children are quarantined at home. They must not take them out in public places," he said.He added that private clinics who receive patients with HFMD must report immediately to their respective Area Health Offices so that action can be taken to control it from spreading.In LAHAD DATU, schools were advised to carry out screening on students for HMFD symptoms before entering the school to prevent transmission.District Health Officer Dr Amirul Hisham Zainol said teachers will be able to identify any student that has the symptoms."Schools are also advised to disinfect equipment that are usually used by the students in school. Provision of hand sanitizer is also encouraged aside from reminding students to wash their hands with soap," Amirul said.For the symptoms, he said there will be signs such as rashes on the palms and feet, ulcer in mouth and throat, watery nose, fever and lack of appetite.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
He also urged parents to bring their children to the nearest clinic or hospital in case of any symptoms to ensure that necessary treatment can be carried out to prevent worsening or transmission.Parents are reminded not to bring their children to public places to reduce the risk of infection but if unavoidable then they should have hands sanitizer packed with them, he added. - Sherell Jeffrey, Lagatah Toyos and Eifa Rizan