Hand Foot Mouth Disease Malaysia

Understanding hand foot mouth disease hfmd is a generally mild and self limiting childhood disease that can spread wherever children congregate.

Hand foot mouth disease malaysia. The new paper a 17 month old boy from penang has become malaysia s first fatality due to hand foot and mouth disease hfmd. Hfmd has become an important public health. Hand foot and mouth disease hfmd is an infection caused by viruses from the enterovirus group which includes enteroviruses coxsackie viruses echoviruses and polioviruses. Hfmd gets its name from the little sores that develop on the hands and feet and in the mouth.

Prevalence caused by the coxsackie a virus and the enterovirus 71 hfmd is most common among children and infants which can be contagious especially when one comes into direct contact with another infected person. Hfmd is endemic in singapore and can affect all ages but young children are more susceptible especially those below 5 years of age who constitute the at risk population. It s common in children under 10 although adults can get a milder form of the virus. It typically begins with a fever and feeling generally unwell.

This is followed a day or two later by flat discolored spots or bumps that may blister on the hands feet and mouth and occasionally buttocks and groin. Hand foot and mouth disease hfmd is typically a benign and common illness among children and infants characterized by rapidly ulcerating vesicles in the mouth and lesions usually vesicular on the hands and feet 1 hfmd is an endemic disease in malaysia. The hand foot and mouth disease or hfmd is one of the most feared health problems among children as it causes a lot of pain and distress. The boy died on june 6 and laboratory tests done on tissue samples.

Among these viruses enterovirus 71 ev 71 and coxsackie virus a16 are the most common pathogens. Malaysia recorded 51 147 cases of hand foot and mouth disease hfmd between jan 1 and aug 14 this year said health minister dr dzulkefly ahmad. Beginning in january 2018 an outbreak of hand foot and mouth disease hfmd occurred among children nationwide across malaysia nearly 38 000 cases were recorded between january 1 and july 26 and by august 14 the total number of cases had risen to 51 000. Hand foot and mouth disease hfmd is a common infection caused by a group of viruses.

Among the states and federal territories affected by the outbreak selangor recorded the highest cases with 11 349 kuala lumpur with.