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30 schools in Bangkok closed due to hand foot mouth disease outbreak
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/15/eng20060915_303153.html
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/15/eng20060915_303153.html
At least 30 schools in Bangkok have been closed for 15 days following an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease, local media reported Friday.
The Nation newspaper quoted a source at the Bangkok city administration's Health Department as saying on Thursday that 259 pupils in 30 schools in 20 districts of Bangkok have shown symptoms of the disease -- high fever, a rash and blisters on hands, feet and mouth. Sai Mai district was the worst affected, with 60 cases.
The sick students have been placed under medical supervision, the source said, and the schools would be disinfected to kill the communicable disease's viral species, which includes Coxsackie virus type A and B and Anterovirus 71.
Hand, foot and mouth disease can be passed on via direct contact with contaminated saliva, excrement or nasal discharge and there is no cure so far. Doctors only provide treatments according to symptoms. In the worst cases, the disease can lead to fatal lung or brain infection and heart failure.
Between January and the end of July this year, some 1,009 cases were found, mostly in children aged between two and five, with four children dying of the disease, said Thawat Sunthajan, head of the Disease Control Department under the Public Health Ministry.
The Ministry has been urging childcare centers to dispose of faeces properly and to take children with symptoms to a doctor immediately. Kindergarten teachers were asked to thoroughly wash their hands after changing nappies and before preparing meals.
Related agencies were also asked to regularly check the amount of chlorine in tap water and swimming pools to ensure it was at least 1 milligram per liter.
Source: Xinhua
The Nation newspaper quoted a source at the Bangkok city administration's Health Department as saying on Thursday that 259 pupils in 30 schools in 20 districts of Bangkok have shown symptoms of the disease -- high fever, a rash and blisters on hands, feet and mouth. Sai Mai district was the worst affected, with 60 cases.
The sick students have been placed under medical supervision, the source said, and the schools would be disinfected to kill the communicable disease's viral species, which includes Coxsackie virus type A and B and Anterovirus 71.
Hand, foot and mouth disease can be passed on via direct contact with contaminated saliva, excrement or nasal discharge and there is no cure so far. Doctors only provide treatments according to symptoms. In the worst cases, the disease can lead to fatal lung or brain infection and heart failure.
Between January and the end of July this year, some 1,009 cases were found, mostly in children aged between two and five, with four children dying of the disease, said Thawat Sunthajan, head of the Disease Control Department under the Public Health Ministry.
The Ministry has been urging childcare centers to dispose of faeces properly and to take children with symptoms to a doctor immediately. Kindergarten teachers were asked to thoroughly wash their hands after changing nappies and before preparing meals.
Related agencies were also asked to regularly check the amount of chlorine in tap water and swimming pools to ensure it was at least 1 milligram per liter.
Source: Xinhua