I. Introduction to hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common infectious disease caused by a variety of enteroviruses, with infants and children under 3 years of age as the main cause. Most children have mild symptoms, with fever and rash or herpes on the hands, feet and mouth as the main features.
A small number of patients can be complicated by meningitis, encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis, respiratory tract infection and myocarditis, etc. Individual children with severe disease progress rapidly and are prone to death.
Older children and adults do not develop the disease after infection, but are able to spread the virus.
The enteroviruses that cause HFMD include enterovirus 71 (EV71) and certain serotypes of group A coxsackieviruses (CoxA) and echoviruses (Echo), and EV71 infection causes a greater proportion of severe cases. Enterovirus is highly infectious and prone to outbreaks or epidemics.
What is enterovirus 71 infection?
Enterovirus 71 is a type of human enterovirus, referred to as EV71, which often causes childhood hand, foot and mouth disease, viral pharyngitis, viral encephalitis and other diseases, collectively referred to as enterovirus 71 infection. The disease occurs most often in children, especially in infants and young children under the age of 3. The disease can occur throughout the year, but is common from April to September.
What are the manifestations of children with enterovirus 71 infection?
The fever starts with a fever, usually around 38°C. The fever is accompanied by a rash in the mouth, hands, feet and buttocks, or an ulcer or mucous membrane rash in the mouth. The rash is not itchy and usually appears on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, but can also appear on the buttocks. Oral ulcers usually appear on the tongue and the oral mucosa of the inner cheeks. Some children do not present with fever, but only with rash or herpes pharyngitis, which is mild. Most children recover within a week when their temperature drops and the rash subsides. Very few infants and children under 3 years of age may develop serious complications. Most of these patients have persistent high fever and rapid disease progression, with serious complications in the central nervous system, respiratory system, and circulatory system occurring within 3-5 days after the onset of the disease, and can cause death.
4. What are the modes of transmission of enterovirus 71 infection?
The disease is transmitted in various ways, mainly through close contact with the crowd, airborne droplet transmission, water and food transmission, etc.
Children are infected through contact with virus-contaminated hands, various household items such as towels, handkerchiefs, dental cups, toys, eating utensils, milk utensils, bedding, underwear, books, etc.
2, the virus in the throat secretions and saliva of the patient can be transmitted through the air (droplets), so close contact with a sick child can cause infection.
3. Infection can also occur when drinking or eating water or food contaminated by the virus.
V. How can we effectively prevent infection in children?
1. Good hygiene habits are very important to prevent infection. Parents should educate their children to strengthen personal hygiene, wash their hands before and after meals, brush their teeth, rinse their mouths and bathe regularly. To drink boiled water, do not drink raw water, do not eat cold food, leftovers should be completely heated before consumption.
2, for infants and toddlers under 3 years old, parents should take care of their children, after the children play on the ground to crawl to carefully wash their hands and change clean clothes, do not use their own chewed food to feed their children, do not let children eat hands.
3, parents should try to take their children to crowded public places, such as supermarkets, theaters, especially try to avoid contact with other children with fever, rash disease, to reduce the chance of being infected.
4, to strengthen the child’s nutrition, pay attention to let the child rest well, in order to enhance the resistance to disease.
5. Parents and other family members should pay attention to personal hygiene to avoid infection. Wash your hands carefully before touching your child when you go home. Keep your child’s school supplies clean and exposed to the sun. Milk utensils and dishes should be disinfected by boiling. Breastfeeding mothers should bathe and change clothes regularly, and wash their breasts before each feeding.
6, pay attention to the family indoor and outdoor cleaning and sanitation, often clean the kitchen, bathroom, feces, strengthen the window ventilation, clothes, bedding to be exposed to the sun. Poultry and livestock should be kept in captivity, avoid mixing people and livestock in one place, especially to reduce the direct contact between children and poultry and livestock.
7, child care institutions, schools and other places where children live and study collectively, to do a good job of morning physical examination, found to have a fever, rash children, parents should be immediately asked to take the child to the hospital, while reporting the relevant departments. Toys, bedding, tables and chairs should be disinfected immediately. Also disinfect canteens, bathrooms, classrooms, etc. Keep classrooms and sleeping rooms and other activity areas ventilated. If caregivers, teachers and other staff are found to have fever with rash, they should immediately suspend their work.
8. Pay attention to your child’s health condition and take him/her to a regular hospital as soon as possible if you find a fever or rash. If your child is enrolled in kindergarten or a school student, you should also tell your teacher as soon as possible. Do not rush to kindergarten or school before the child is completely cured to prevent transmission to other children.