Singapore hasn't seen end of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease outbreak

[Gert van der Hoek]

Singapore hasn't seen end of HFMD outbreak: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan

Posted: 26 April 2007 1902 hrs


The recent spike in Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease cases in Singapore spells both bad and good news, said the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

688 cases of HFMD were recorded last week.

That's the highest number recorded so far this year.

The bad news, said Dr Balakrishnan, is that the numbers are gradually increasing and Singapore has not seen the end of this epidemic yet.

The good news is that the virus is the CA16 strain, which causes a milder form of the disease and so far, no child has been hospitalised.

However, he said this is not a reason to be complacent.

Dr Balakrishnan urged parents to practise good hygiene and keep their children at home if they are unwell.

"The bottom line I want to share with parents is - yes, there is a problem, but it's not something that is alarming or dangerous at this point in time - just some sensible common sense precautions will help and if everyone does his part, this is an infection which we can control," said the Minister.

At the same time, even though child care centres have been taking precautions, Dr Balakrishnan said that MCYS is stepping up its checks on child care centres just to make sure. -

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/272673/1/.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Singapore hasn't seen end of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease outbreak

Hand-foot-mouth cases up slightly this month in Singapore

Singapore's childcare center had a total of 570 active cases of children infected with hand-foot- mouth disease as of last Friday, an slight increase compared to some 460 cases a month ago.

Singapore's Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) said on Monday that the disease was still under control as most of the cases were of the less dangerous CA16 strain, according to local television Channel NewsAsia reports.

MCYS said one childcare center which reported cases of food-and- mouth disease voluntarily closed for six days early last month.

MCYS added that it was overseeing all 732 registered childcare centers in Singapore and had increased the number of spot checks at childcare centers.

Parents are called by MCYS to join in the fight.

"We tell the parents to help us to check the children, that means to check the mouth whether there is any growth, check the hands for any rashes, and to check the soles. Also to check the temperature for any fever," Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State of MCYS was quoted as saying.

Operators and supervisors from more than 700 childcare centers will participate an anti-hand-foot and mouth disease seminar at Singapore Polytechnic next month, which is organized by MCYS.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.people.com.cn/200705/29/eng20070529_378758.html