Hand, foot and mouth disease raging in several Asian countries

Published July 13, 2012 3:00pm

Hundreds of children have been killed in the Asian region by hand, foot and mouth disease, a report of the Associated Press (AP) said. The report, published on the news site Emirates 24/7, said the enterovirus 71 strain, or EV-71, raised fears earlier this week when it was detected in 52 of 59 Cambodian children who died suddenly from a mystery illness. Via Twitter on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said most cases of the mystery illness were caused by the disease.

Although it was the first time EV-71 was identified in Cambodia, it was a well-known pathogen elsewhere in Asia. "The disease has exploded across the Asian region since 1997, when the first major outbreak was reported in Malaysia. Since then, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Mongolia, Taiwan and Australia have all wrangled with it," the AP report said.* From January to June this year, 356 people in China and 33 in Vietnam have died from the hand, foot and mouth disease, it added. 'Undiagnosed illness'

On its July 9 outbreak alert, the WHO said further investigations are needed after a mystery disease caused over 50 deaths among Cambodian children.

"The age of the cases range from three months to 11 years old, with the majority being under three years old. The overall male: female ratio is 1.3:1," the WHO said.

"Based on the latest laboratory results, a significant proportion of the samples tested positive for enterovirus 71 (EV-71), which causes hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD). The EV-71 virus has been known to generally cause severe complications amongst some patients," it added.

WHO explained that hand foot and mouth disease is a common infectious disease of infants and children. The symptoms include:

fever,
painful sores in the mouth, and
a rash with blisters on hands, feet and also buttocks.

"The disease usually begins with fever, poor appetite, malaise, and frequently with a sore throat. One or two days after fever onset, painful sores develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers," WHO said. Spread of infection

WHO warned that the hand, foot and mouth disease virus "is contagious and infection is spread from person to person by direct contact with nose or throat discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected persons." While there are no specific treatments yet for hand, foot, and mouth disease, WHO urged patients to drink plenty of water or other liquids and seek treatment for the symptoms.

"Health care providers are advised to treat patients according to their symptoms and to refrain from using steroids," WHO said. - VVP, GMA News

Estimated number of Filipinos in the countries mentioned, based on the 2010 Stock Estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO): Australia: 345,592 Cambodia: 3,283 Japan: 290,358 Malaysia: 316,273 Mongolia: 163 Singapore: 160,020 South Korea: 82,359 Taiwan: 99,399

Tags: worldhealthorganization, health