Parents’ fears of hand, foot and mouth disease outbreaks in schools should be allayed by the festive break that will tame the disease, according to paediatrician Victor Grech.
“things will fizzle out over the holidays,” Prof. Grech said about the self-limiting disease, which has a typically mild course and stands apart from the foot-and-mouth disease of cattle, sheep and swine caused by a different virus.
Charmaine Gauci, director of disease prevention in the Health Department, said it had fewer than 10 cases reported in Gozo and Malta. This, Dr Gauci said, was normal for this time of year and the situation was expected to improve with the holidays, when children were away from school thus limiting the extent of spread of the infection.
Prof. Grech said, although paediatricians had seen children with the disease, this was “normal” and he wanted to alleviate parents’ concerns about the infection.
HFMD is a very contagious viral disease that affects small children and infants. Contrary to its potency to spread, it was not a serious disease and nearly all patients recovered within a week without medical intervention, Prof. Grech emphasised.
It usually caused small epidemics in nursery schools and kindergartens, usually in the summer and autumn months, he said.
Very occasionally, the disease could go unnoticed, with infected people only being carriers of the infection, he explained. Usually, HFMD began with fever, loss of appetite, feeling generally unwell and a sore throat. Diarrhoea and vomiting could also occasionally accompany such symptoms. some 48 hours later, painful ulcers developed, starting as red spots then blistering and ulcerating on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks. a non-itchy rash, whose red spots could sometimes blister, developed on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and even on the buttocks, Prof. Grech explained.
Uncommonly, finger and toe nails could be lost in children within a month of contracting the disease.
Very rarely, viral meningitis could occur with HFMD, which was usually mild and did not need specific treatment. even more rarely, a polio-like paralysis or encephalitis could occur, the latter of which could be fatal, Prof. Grech said.
Infection spread from person to person through direct contact with the live virus found in nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid and stools of infectious individuals.
People were most contagious in the first week of the illness and could remain carriers for several weeks after all symptoms had subsided, he said, pointing out that pet to person spread was not possible.
Dr Gauci stressed the importance of proper hygiene such as hand washing and avoiding close contact with infected individuals. She emphasised the importance of not attending school while still sick.
Prof. Grech said no vaccine was available for the disease and there was no specific treatment for it, except for symptomatic care through, for example pain killers for mouth ulcers.
“It is truly no big deal. Children should just keep away from school while contagious to limit the spread,” Prof .Grech said.