sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
RI 'free' of the deadly enterovirus 71
Erwida Maulia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 05/11/2008 12:37 PM | Headlines
Indonesia remains free from enterovirus 71, despite reports the deadly virus has struck people in Singapore, the Health Ministry said Saturday.
The ministry has received a report that 20 percent of the 1,465 hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) patients diagnosed in Singapore in the past 11 weeks were infected with enterovirus 71, according to director of infectious disease control at the ministry, Tjandra Yoga Aditama.
Indonesia remains safe from the virus, he told The Jakarta Post.
"Children in Indonesia often contract HFMD. But what we have seen here has been the ordinary type of the disease, which is not at all deadly," Tjandra said.
"I cannot say how many ordinary HFMD cases there are. It is as common as the flu."
Outbreaks of ordinary HFMD occurred among school students in several areas in 2004 and 2005.
Ordinary HFMD is caused by either coxsackieviruses or echoviruses, which are harmless, whereas the deadly HFMD is caused by enterovirus 71, Tjandra said.
The enterovirus has been blamed for the recent deaths of more than 20 children in China, along with a further 5,000 infections.
Singapore has yet to report any fatalities.
The enterovirus can enter the human body through the digestive tract. It multiplies in the oropharynx (the part of the pharynx located immediately behind the mouth) and is usually detected in patients' feces.
Enterovirus replication takes place in either the gastrointestinal or the respiratory tract. After the virus infects the blood, it spreads and infects other tissues and organs, causing various diseases.
The virus is excreted after several weeks.
There are various types of enterovirus, with most producing no or only mild symptoms. The virus can cause a fever accompanied by sores on the hands and feet and in the mouth, hence the popular name HFMD.
HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth disease in cattle, sheep and pigs. The two diseases are not related and are caused by different viruses.
Five children recently admitted to Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital were originally suspected of having been infected with enterovirus 71.
Two of the patients have been confirmed free of the deadly virus, Tjandra said.
The other three are waiting further test results.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/node/168603
Erwida Maulia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 05/11/2008 12:37 PM | Headlines
Indonesia remains free from enterovirus 71, despite reports the deadly virus has struck people in Singapore, the Health Ministry said Saturday.
The ministry has received a report that 20 percent of the 1,465 hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) patients diagnosed in Singapore in the past 11 weeks were infected with enterovirus 71, according to director of infectious disease control at the ministry, Tjandra Yoga Aditama.
Indonesia remains safe from the virus, he told The Jakarta Post.
"Children in Indonesia often contract HFMD. But what we have seen here has been the ordinary type of the disease, which is not at all deadly," Tjandra said.
"I cannot say how many ordinary HFMD cases there are. It is as common as the flu."
Outbreaks of ordinary HFMD occurred among school students in several areas in 2004 and 2005.
Ordinary HFMD is caused by either coxsackieviruses or echoviruses, which are harmless, whereas the deadly HFMD is caused by enterovirus 71, Tjandra said.
The enterovirus has been blamed for the recent deaths of more than 20 children in China, along with a further 5,000 infections.
Singapore has yet to report any fatalities.
The enterovirus can enter the human body through the digestive tract. It multiplies in the oropharynx (the part of the pharynx located immediately behind the mouth) and is usually detected in patients' feces.
Enterovirus replication takes place in either the gastrointestinal or the respiratory tract. After the virus infects the blood, it spreads and infects other tissues and organs, causing various diseases.
The virus is excreted after several weeks.
There are various types of enterovirus, with most producing no or only mild symptoms. The virus can cause a fever accompanied by sores on the hands and feet and in the mouth, hence the popular name HFMD.
HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth disease in cattle, sheep and pigs. The two diseases are not related and are caused by different viruses.
Five children recently admitted to Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital were originally suspected of having been infected with enterovirus 71.
Two of the patients have been confirmed free of the deadly virus, Tjandra said.
The other three are waiting further test results.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/node/168603