2 Pinoy kids unlikely infected with deadly Enterovirus 71 - DOH exec

The two Filipino children earlier reported to have tested positive for pan enterovirus screening do not have the deadly strain that have killed 56 in Cambodia, a Health Department official said Wednesday.  

“Because they’ve recovered, unlikely na Enterovirus 71 ‘yon.” Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center told a press conference.

 

“The pan enterovirus screening is a broad screening test for detecting different types of enteroviruses,” Dr. Celia Carlos, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist, of the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine said in an interview with GMA News' SAKSI.

 

Hand foot and mouth disease should not be confused with the similarly named foot and mouth disease, CDC said. Foot and mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects animals but can also transfer to humans. New polio? But because of its’ potential for outbreak, Tayag said EV-71 can be considered the new polio.

.

“Na-eradicate na natin yung polio, and just like polio, they’re [enterovirus] found in intestines, na nasheshed sa dumi natin. [It] easily spreads from hand to mouth.” Tayag explained.

 

The DOH also said that while children 5 and lower are at highest risk, adults can still be carriers of the disease.

 

Other than disease surveillance training in hospitals to easily identify the virus, locations where the virus is likely to spread are also being monitored. “We are going to monitor day care centers, schools, because these are the settings where outbreaks of hand foot and mouth disease have been known to occur in the past,” Tayag said.

 

Meanwhile, Malacañang said they are ready should the fatal enterovirus strain enter the country.

 

At a press briefing Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda assured the public that the Health Department is adequately equipped to deal with the virus. He added that all cases of enterovirus are local. “So far wala pa naman tayong incidents of enterovirus coming from abroad,” Lacierda said.

 

While there is no known vaccine or cure for EV-71, the DOH said the disease, which spreads via saliva, human waste and fluid blisters, can be avoided through constant hand washing and proper hygiene. — Patricia Denise Chiu/RSJ, GMA News