Experts warn of the risk of spreading hand, foot and mouth disease

Since the beginning of the year, Vietnam has recorded nearly 90,000 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, with 21 deaths.

Hand, foot and mouth disease can be fatal if complications are severe. (Source: HealthXchange)

According to statistics in week 37, the whole country recorded 5,250 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, with no deaths. Accumulated from the beginning of the year, the whole country recorded 86,078 cases, with 21 deaths. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of cases increased by 75.4%, the number of deaths increased by 18%.

In Hanoi, the number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases has been increasing in recent weeks. While week 36 recorded 70 cases, week 37 saw 105 cases and week 38 saw 139 cases. It is expected that the number of cases will continue to increase when preschool and primary school students return to school.

Experts say that hand, foot and mouth disease in Vietnam is mainly caused by Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and Coxsackie A16. The disease can occur in all subjects, however, up to 90% of cases occur in children under 3 years old. EV71 often causes severe illness and can easily cause complications and death.

According to the Department of Preventive Medicine, it is now the beginning of the new school year, there is a high risk of spreading hand, foot and mouth disease if schools and especially preschools and family nurseries do not properly implement personal and environmental hygiene measures to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease.

According to MSc. Dr. Do Thi Thuy Nga - Deputy Head of the Department of General Internal Medicine, Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital, there are two common complications of hand, foot and mouth disease: neurological complications and complications of respiratory failure and circulatory failure. However, this year the Department of General Internal Medicine has received more children with neurological complications, typically encephalitis. Children admitted to the hospital are often awake, without much perceptual disturbance, but have symptoms of startle, especially startle at the beginning of sleep. In addition, there are symptoms of limb tremors, staggering...

According to MSc. Do Thi Thuy Hau - Head Nurse of the Tropical Disease Center, National Children's Hospital, hand, foot and mouth disease has many dangerous complications and especially develops very quickly within a few hours.

Therefore, when children are treated at home, in addition to taking care of them and giving them medicine according to the doctor's instructions, parents need to closely monitor the child's illness to promptly take them to a medical facility to avoid possible unfortunate consequences.

Some warning signs of hand, foot and mouth disease getting worse, parents need to pay attention:

- High fever that does not respond to treatment: Children have a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius for more than 48 hours and do not respond to antipyretics.

- Startle: this is a sign of neurotoxicity. Parents should pay attention to see if the frequency of startle increases over time.

- Persistent crying: The child may cry a lot, cry all night without sleeping (The child sleeps for about 15-20 minutes, then wakes up, cries for about 15-20 minutes, then goes back to sleep).

- Some other signs: difficulty breathing, frequent vomiting, dry heaving, difficulty swallowing, weak limbs, staggering...

Doctors recommend that if children show any unusual signs, parents should take them to a medical facility immediately to determine the severity of the disease and provide an appropriate treatment regimen. Parents should not research online and then arbitrarily use drugs, which can make the child's illness worse.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chuyen-gia-canh-bao-nguy-co-lay-lan-benh-tay-chan-mieng-244309.html