The Department of Health (DOH) Bicol recorded a total of 321 cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in the region from January 1 until November 5 this year.
62 of the recorded cases of HFMD in the region are from sentinel hospitals while the 259 cases are from the community. Sorsogon province recorded the highest number of cases among the six provinces numbering to 245.
According to Ma. Francia Genorga, Nurse V/Infectious Disease Cluster, DOH Bicol CHD, HFMD is a mild but very contagious common viral illness among infants and children from ages 5 years old and below.
Signs and symptoms of HFMD include fever, sore throat, feeling of being unwell, irritability in infants and toddlers, loss of appetite, red rashes on the palms, soles, and buttocks, and red blister-like lesions.
DOH Bicol advises parents who have infected children with HFMD to isolate them for at least a week, monitor the child’s fever, and verify with a doctor the child’s condition.
DOH Bicol was quick to assure the number of recorded HFMD cases should not be a cause of alarm especially that there has been no recorded death due to the said illness. I via Jona Bagayawa