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Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases up to this point are increasing by more than 52% over the same period last year. Experts recommend that the new school year approaches, so parents should absolutely not be negligent, creating conditions for the spread of the disease.

According to statistics, in the week of 33/2023, the whole country recorded 5,727 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, no deaths were recorded. Compared with the previous week (6,535/0) the number of cases decreased by 12.4%. Since the beginning of the year, the whole country recorded 68,096 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, of which 18 died. Compared to the same period in 2022 (44,724/3), the number of hand, foot and mouth infections this year up to this point increased by 52.3%, the number of deaths increased by 15 cases.

Experts said that hand, foot and mouth disease circulating in Vietnam is mainly caused by strains of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and Coxsackie A16. The disease can occur in any population, but up to 90% of cases occur in children under 3 years of age. The EV71 strain often causes severe illness and is prone to complications and possibly death.

Since the beginning of 2023, there has been an increase in the rate of cases positive for the EV71 strain. It is this feature that makes hand, foot and mouth disease cases more severe than in previous years.

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6 measures to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease when the new school year approaches

According to the Department of Preventive Health, now is the time to start a new school year, there is a high risk of spreading hand, foot and mouth disease if schools and especially preschool education institutions and family kindergartens do not practice implement good personal and environmental hygiene measures to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease.

In order to actively prevent and minimize the effects of hand, foot and mouth disease on health, especially children and students, right from the beginning of the new school year, the Department of Preventive Medicine strongly recommends that people take the initiative Take the following preventive measures:

Personal hygiene: Wash hands often with soap under running water several times a day (both adults and children), especially before preparing food, before eating/feeding, before holding and holding children children, after using the toilet, after changing diapers and cleaning the baby.

Food hygiene: Food for children needs to ensure enough nutrients; eat ripe, drink ripe; eating utensils must be washed before use (preferably soaked in boiling water); use clean water in daily life; do not give food to children; do not let children eat, suck, suck on toys; Do not allow children to share napkins, handkerchiefs, eating utensils such as cups, bowls, plates, spoons, toys that have not been disinfected.

Cleaning toys and living places: Households, kindergartens, and home-care households need to regularly clean surfaces and daily contact items such as toys, learning tools, and handles. doors, handrails, countertops/chairs, floors with soap or common cleaning agents.

Children’s waste collection and treatment: Using hygienic latrines, children’s feces and waste must be collected, treated and dumped into hygienic latrines.

Monitoring for early detection: Children must be regularly monitored for their health to promptly detect, isolate and treat infected cases, and avoid spreading the disease to other children.

Isolation and timely treatment when sick: Kindergartens, kindergartens, focus groups and households with children under 6 years of age need to actively monitor their children’s health to promptly detect and bring them to the appropriate health care facilities. medical facility for prompt treatment. Sick children must be isolated for at least 10 days from the onset of illness, do not allow children with symptoms of illness to go to class and play with other children. treat.

According to MSc Do Thi Thuy Hau – Chief Nursing Officer, Center for Tropical Diseases, National Hospital of Pediatrics, hand, foot and mouth disease has many dangerous complications and especially develops very quickly within a few hours.

Therefore, when the child is treated at home, in addition to taking care of and giving the child medicine according to the doctor’s instructions, parents need to closely monitor the child’s disease progress to promptly take the child to a medical facility. , avoid possible unfortunate consequences.

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

High fever unresponsive to treatment:

Children with fever above 38.5°C for more than 48 hours and unresponsive to antipyretics.

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

Prolonged persistent fussing: The child may cry a lot, cry all night without sleep (Children sleep for 15-20 minutes, wake up crying for 15-20 minutes and then go back to sleep).

Some other signs: difficulty breathing, vomiting a lot, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, weakness in limbs, unsteady walk…

Doctors recommend that if a child has any abnormal signs, parents need to immediately take the child to a medical facility to determine the extent of the disease and give an appropriate treatment plan. lives and then arbitrarily use drugs, which can make the child’s illness worse .