by Pannee Pumhiran
panneep@isb.ac.th
Dear Parents,
There have been cases of a viral infection commonly known as Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, within this region and other schools in Bangkok. We have consulted medical advice and are advised that young children who do not show any symptoms may carry this virus, and so we must accept the possibility that some of our students are potentially contagious.
We have increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting our toilets and ensured that washing and drying facilities are well provided. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students have been checked and briefed on the need to wash their hands thoroughly every time they use the toilet.
The virus only affects young children and a medical reference gives the following detail and description of symptoms to watch for;
Hand, Foot and Mouth disease is moderately contagious. It spreads from person to person by direct contact. This disease has an incubation period of 3-6 days. This is the time between catching the disease and showing symptoms. The child is most infectious before they start to show symptoms. For this reason Hand, Foot and Mouth disease is easily passed around between small children, because they are in close contact with each other without knowing they have the virus.
The early symptoms are fever, loss of appetite, sore throat and generally feeling unwell. After one or two days, painful sores develop in the mouth, tongue and inside of the cheeks. Because they are sores and discomfort, the child may not want to eat. Within about a day, sores develop on palms, soles of the feet, between the fingers and toes and the buttocks (in some people).
General guidelines for prevention by basic hygiene;
– Wash hands with soap and running water before eating and after going to the toilet
– Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
– Maintain good air circulation
– Do not share eating utensils
– Avoiding contact with infected individuals
– Cleaning of contaminated surfaces by diluted solution of chlorine- contained bleach (approximately ¼ cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water)
While it is important that we give full emphasis to these preventive measures it is essential that we do not spread unnecessary alarm and we will continue to do all we can to prevent infection at school.
ISB Nurse