Year One pupil's death in JB not due to HFMD

JOHOR BARU: Tests performed on blood samples of a Year One female student who died on April 11 did not show any strains of Enterovirus-71 (EV71), which causes the Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease (HFMD).

Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the death of the pupil of SJKC Chien Chi, Plentong, here, cannot be associated with HFMD.

"The blood samples sent to the National Public Health Laboratory in Sungai Buloh last week found the victim tested negative for Enterovirus-71.

"This means, the victim did not die of HFMD ...she may have suffered complications from another infection or from consuming certain medicine," he told reporters after the launch of the Clean and Sustainable Johor 2015 programme in Taman Pelangi Indah, here.

The seven-year-old pupil, name withheld, died last week due to septic shock and multiple organ failure after suffering symptoms of HFMD.

HFMD which often strikes kindergartens and primary schools during the hot season is caused by the virus Coxsackievirus A16 and EV-71. Both are easily spread through direct contact with mucus, saliva or faeces of an infected victim. - Bernama