PETALING JAYA: A seemingly harmless mouth ulcer was the initial sign.
Within days, spots appeared on the hands of Muhammad Firdaus Mokhtar’s two-year-old son. Prompted by these developments, the personal assistant took his son to the doctor, who subsequently diagnosed him with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
“We immediately called the daycare centre to ask if there were other cases there,” he recounted reharding the incident from last month.
“The taska confirmed that another child had been down with HFMD but was already quarantined. So I decided to quarantine my son for one week as well,” said Muhammad Firdaus, 36.
His son’s condition is one of the many recent HFMD cases throughout the country.
A statement from the Home Ministry on Monday said there had been a 266% increase in cases nationwide so far this year, with 99,601 cases.
About 10% of these cases were related to outbreaks of HFMD, while the rest were sporadic.
Selangor recorded the highest number of infections, making up 27.2% of cases, followed by Johor (9.9%), Perak (9.4%), Kelantan (7.2%), and Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (6.9%).
IT executive Rafiqha Mustaffa, residing in Puchong, Selangor, decided not to send her daughter to preschool following the discovery of two cases there. Furthermore, she said the school management had closed the place for a week to carry out sanitation after the two cases occured.
“We are grateful that the school has been strict with its health protocols. They would check the body temperature of each child. Occasionally, they would also inspect their hands and feet for symptoms of the illness.”
Rafiqha, 33, said the school would not allow entry to anyone who was unwell.
Likewise, she said parents should not send ill children to classes to avoid infecting others.
Marketing manager Abd Adam Abd Samad, who has a three-year-old daughter, is not in a hurry to send her to daycare.
“So far, the schools I have visited are strict if a child starts showing symptoms. But I am still wary of the possibility of some parents who have no choice but to leave their children at the nursery,” said Abd Adam, 35, who hails from Shah Alam.
Therefore, he recommended that employers permit parents to work from home or grant them flexible hours to take care of their sick children.
Meanwhile, Association of Registered Child Care Providers Malaysia president Norsheila Abdullah said parents and caretakers must be more aware of their children’s movements and keep them and their clothes clean.
“A lot of the time, the origin of these cases can be traced from outside a care centre but often goes unnoticed by parents. It can be from a trip to a playground, swimming pool or even toys that are moved from one place to another.
“This is why at the taska, we often sanitise regularly and advise parents to do the same, especially with the toys and items used by the children to avoid cross contamination,” she said in response to the spike in HFMD cases.
She acknowledged that there was a trend or cycle to outbreaks, but it was also important to find out the source of the infections.
