Health Authorities in Region 10 are looking into the cause of rashes amid concerns of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in the Linden.
This was reported yesterday by the Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony.
It has been reported that there are some 54 cases of suspected Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Linden, however, the health minister noted that these reports have not been confirmed.
He said the Chief Medical Officer has spoken to the Regional Health Officer to find out about the reported cases.
“The region has not sent us any report specifying that this is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, so when we heard about it in the media, we reached out to them to find out, but they are unable to confirm whether this is so,” the Minister said.
He added, “They are not sure what are these cases. They have noticed that you have had maybe a number of children with rashes or what appears to be rashes and they have noted children, with this type of presentation. Now to move and say that Is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, without really making a more explicit study of what is happening there, would be a big jump,” he noted.
Dr. Anthony said the viral disease is usually spread by the Coxsackievirus, and in some cases, could be caused by Enterovirus, however, this was not confirmed
“So, there is some clinical presentation but not all of them resembles what is a typical Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease and you can’t just have maybe one symptom of a disease and conclude its that disease,” Dr Anthony explained.
“Typical Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, people would present with sores, sores on their mouths, on their hands, on their buttocks, foot and so forth, I don’t think that’s the presentation we have seen in Linden, at least that is not what has been reported.”
He noted that the disease can be prevented by proper hygiene practices.
“In any event, this disease is a very mild one, very rarely you would have complications,” Dr. Anthony pointed out.
He said that the ministry will continue to monitor the situation and the regional health authorities have been asked to present a report so that the ministry could determine whether the disease is in the region.
