NewsDesk @bactiman63
In a follow-up on the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreak in Malaysia, health authorities report a total of 65,535 cases through May 28. This is a 27-fold increase over the same period for 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) of 2,333 cases.
When compared to the same period in 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) with 29,846 cases, it is more than doubled.
The State of Selangor contributed the highest number of HFMD cases compared to other states which was 18,525 cases (28.27%), followed by WP Kuala Lumpur & Putrajaya 8,088 cases (12.34%), Perak 5,810 cases (8.87%) , Kelantan 4,905 cases (7.48%), and Sabah 4,077 cases (6.22%).
A total of 59,831 cases of HFMD (91%) were reported among children aged 6 years and below and 4,593 cases (7%) were children aged 7 to 12 years.
Enterovirus surveillance found three (3) major viruses that cause the spread of HFMD in the community in 2022; namely Coxsackie A16 (CA16), Coxsackie A6 (CA6) and Enterovirus 71 (EV71). In 2022, to date, there are three (3) cases of HFMD admitted to the Intensive Care Ward (ICU). The first and second cases were admitted to the ICU due to complications of encephalitis and were confirmed to be infected with EV71. While the third case was admitted to the ICU due to monitoring after abdominal surgery. This third case has already been transferred to the regular surgical ward on 27 May 2022 for further monitoring. While the first and second cases are still under close monitoring in the ICU.
To date, a total of 1,505 outbreaks were reported in Malaysia where three (3) states recorded the highest incidence of outbreaks namely WPKL & Putrajaya which is 502 outbreaks (33.4%), followed by Selangor 172 outbreaks (11.4%) and Perak 168 outbreaks (11.2%). The majority of outbreak locations occurred in kindergartens, kindergartens and pre-schools with 913 outbreaks (61%) followed by private homes with 526 outbreaks (35%) and also childcare centers with 51 outbreaks (3%). Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during the incubation period of HFMD.
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