Published on: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 |
Kota Kinabalu: There is no outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in Sabah, said State Acting Director of Health Dr Mohamad Yusof Ibrahim.
He said the Health Department here has yet to receive notification from any school in the State seeking temporary closure because of the disease, caused by the Coxsackie virus that mainly affects children under 10 years old.
"We have not received any report of HFMD cases in Sabah since the first case was identified in a primary school in Kuala Lumpur early this month.
"Even the Ministry of Health has made statements recently that the situation is under control in the country," he said Monday.
Dr Yusof, who is also the State Deputy Director of Health in charge of Public Health, made these remarks when told that several private doctors here have been treating children below six-years-old for symptoms of HFMD.
One parent contacted Daily Express on Monday to inform that her six-year-old son was diagnosed with symptoms of HFMD by a private doctor here.
"Before I saw the blisters in my son's mouth, he had a mild fever and easily felt lethargic. Two days later, he complained about blisters in his mouth and red dots that looked like rashes and some blisters appeared on both his palms and feet.
"Immediately I drove to a private clinic to get medical treatment and the doctor only clinically diagnosed my son as having symptoms of HFMD caused by the Coxsackie virus," she said.
According to her, the doctor even told her that he had handled 50 cases of children below six suffering similar symptoms last month and 30 such cases this month.
She believed her son contracted the symptoms from some children at a preschool cum day-care centre in Likas. She has alerted the headmistress of her son's illness, she added.
She also revealed having found out that a Chinese kindergarten in Likas had taken precautionary measures by checking pupils' mouths for blisters or ulcers.
She felt schools must be responsible and inform parents when any of their pupils is found to suffer from the symptoms of the HFMD.
At the same time, she said, the school managements must ensure all washrooms and toilets are constantly cleaned with antiseptic detergents.
Daily Express also contacted other private clinics and the doctors confirmed coming across some cases. One doctor, however, said it indicated the Type A of the disease which is mild and nothing to worry about.
Last Friday, a national tabloid reported that six pupils in a primary school in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail in Kuala Lumpur have been affected with HFMD and the Education Ministry ordered the school closed until further notice.
Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong said three of the pupils have recovered and three others are being treated at the Damansara Specialist Centre.
He said disinfection of the school premises was carried out soon after SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 1 was closed when the pupils were confirmed to have contracted the disease, caused by Coxsackie virus A16.
In respect of this, Dr Yusof advised that schools in Sabah must contact the nearest health department or office for immediate action to be taken in order to tackle the spread of the disease and its symptoms.
"If the school management does not know what to do, then it is best for them to contact us or nearest health office so that we can immediately send our health inspectors to the said school. The officers will know what to do.
"We are also calling parents whose children have been diagnosed with symptoms of HFMD to inform us at 088-217740 or nearest health office for our immediate action," he said.
On children's admission to Likas Hospital for treatment of the disease's symptoms, Dr Yusof said he does not have the information on hand.
