Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD)

Photos by Renjith Krishnan of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Dengue is not the only risk that many parents, guardians and school officials are facing nowadays. Looming threat to our children is the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) that recently kills 55 children (mostly were younger than 3 years old) in Cambodia since April 2012.

What is HFMD?
HFMD is a contagious viral disease caused by two enteroviruses called Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) and Enteroviruses 71 (EV71). Adults, babies and children can be afflicted with the disease.
People especially babies and children with HFMD caused by Coxsackievirus A16 recover fully after the illness. Dehydration is the most common complication. It takes 7 to 10 days to recover. It is an illness that is mild and over within a week. Treatment is directly toward relief of symptoms such as fever and sores. School kids can go back to school days after provided that they should be given clearance from the doctor.

For more information regarding Hand Foot and Mouth Disease please go to http://kurukuronimye.com/2012/07/hfmd/