No vaccine for HFMD, check spread - Health Officer

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 8 (Bernama) – The Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) does not have a vaccine, however, parents and guardians can control the risk of the virus spreading by taking preventive measures including constantly optimising the level of hygiene of children.

Kota Kinabalu Health Officer. Jiloris @ Julian Frederick Dony said parents and guardians need to be sensitive to cleanliness by ensuring their children sneezed and coughed in the right way so that fluids from their mouths would not infect others.

"Parents and guardians need to implement 'gatekeeping' to children starting from home. Parents should also ensure that children wash their hands using the proper technique to keep their hands clean, especially when eating.

"HFMD can infect adults, but children between the ages of 10 and below are at high risk of being infected by this virus because they do not have a strong immune system," he told reporters after launching the Children's Health Education programme here today. 

Jiloris also advised parents and guardians to isolate those children who had been infected and informing the nearby health office for further control.

Child care centre operators were also reminded to increase the level of hygiene of the premises by cleaning them more often as well as children’s equipment and toys to avoid the risk of transmitting the virus, he said.

Yesterday, Sabah Health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said the number of HFMD cases reported in the state increased by six to 2,611 from 2,605 cases recorded on July 27.

Among the districts recording the highest cases of HFMD were Kota Kinabalu (564); followed by Beaufort (393); Penampang (258); and Sandakan (221); as well as 24 schools and nurseries throughout Sabah which were still closed following the discovery of HFMD cases.

-- BERNAMA