12/12/07

Hand Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD)

Hand-foot-mouth disease usually caused by coxsackie A16 virus and enterovirus 71. HFMD infection is spread from person to person by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected persons. This disease is a common illness of infants and children (under 10 years old) but may also occur in adults. HFMD typically occurs in small epidemics of nursery schools or kindergartens, and usually during the summer and autumn months.

The symptoms of HFMD include mild fever, poor appetite, sore throat, painful rash in the mouth, sores with blisters on palms and soles that become ulcers. A person is most contagious during the first week of the illness. HFMD caused by coxsackievirus A16 infection is a mild disease and nearly all patients recover without medical treatment in 7 to 10 days. Enterovirus 71 may cause viral meningitis, encephalitis, or poliomyelitis-like paralysis. Enterovirus 71 encephalitis may be fatal. Cases of fatal encephalitis occurred during outbreaks of HFMD in Malaysia in 1997 and in Taiwan in 1998.

The large outbreak of HFMD in Taiwan caused by enterovirus 71 had a high mortality rate of 19.3% in the severe cases. During this outbreak, mortality rates were highest in children younger than 3 years. In a large epidemic of HFMD related to enterovirus 71 in Singapore, 7 fatalities occurred, most from interstitial pneumonitis or brainstem encephalitis. A later study of an HFMD epidemic in Australia, again with enterovirus 71, reported that about 64% of patients developed severe neurologic disease in which the host immune response seemed to cause most of the neurologic manifestations.

My goal is to help the people in South East Asian countries that infected by Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD) frequently in recent year. This year, the disease tends to be more and more severe in Thailand. Therefore, the main propose will be helping Thailand to reduce and control the HFMD.

There is no vaccine currently available for these enteroviruses. Symptomatic treatment is given to provide relief from fever, aches, or pain from the mouth ulcers. Good personal hygiene and general cleanliness, especially frequent hand washing before handling food and after using the bathroom or changing diapers can reduce the spread of these viruses. Keep well personal hygiene can reduce the transmission in daycares and in pubic as in shopping centers and restaurants. The goal of this mission is to help reduce HFMD cases in Thailand by sending medical teams support local hospitals in Thailand. Educate basic knowledge of HFMD and how to prevent the disease in Thailand pubic is also in our mission. Provide a well surveillance net on HFMD in Thailand and decrease any outbreak spread in South East Asian countries.