Health Minister proposes 'gate-keeping' to check HFMD

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Parents must act as 'gate-keepers' to make sure that children infected with the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) did not go to school but were instead quarantined, said Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said this would help curb the spread of the disease which is easily spread by contact with saliva.

"The number of HFMD cases that is spreading is scary but if we can resolve this problem through gate-keeping at the entry points of the schools, this could solve the problem more effectively," he said at the closing ceremony of the Health Promotion in Learning Institutions (HePiLi) convention 2018 and the launch of the Tunas Doktor Muda programme at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia here.

The HFMD outbreak which had previously been reported among schoolchildren in Penang, Kedah and Pahang had started to spread in Kuala Lumpur with one class in Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Tun Dr Ismail 2 here ordered close and all 36 students given 10-days' leave after four of them were found to have HFMD.

According to Health Ministry records, 35,886 cases have been recorded throughout the country between Jan 1 and July 23 this year.

The HePiLi convention is a platform which combines health promotion programmes involving early childhood education pre-school or nursery students through the Tunas Doktor Muda programme, the Kelab  Doktor Muda programme for primary and secondary students, and the Siswa Sihat (PROSIS) programme for tertiary institutions.

-- BERNAMA