Huron County, ON – The Huron County Health Unit is seeing an increase in hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) also called coxsackie. They are advising residents, particularly parents of children attending daycares, to stop the spread of infection by increasing hand washing.
Public Health Nurse Dori Taylor says hand foot and mouth infections may cause fever, poor appetite and blisters in mouth, on palms of hands and bottom of feet. The virus can be found in saliva, blister fluid and stool and is spread from person-to-person by unwashed hands.
Taylor encourages children be kept home from daycare if they are sick and may return when able to participate in normal activities. There is no specific treatment for HFMD and most people will recover in a few days.
“Hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds is the best way to prevent the spread of this infection as well as other infections” says Taylor. Using an alcohol based hand sanitizer with between 70-90% alcohol when hands are not visibly dirty can also work. Hands should be cleaned after using the washroom, after changing diapers, after shaking hands and before preparing and eating food.
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Creating Healthy Communities Together
TO FIND OUT MORE…
Our media contact is: Sharon Brown, Huron County Health Unit, 519-482-3416 or toll-free 1-877-837-6143 ext. 2224
Our spokesperson is: Dori Taylor, Public Health Nurse. Our media contact will connect you to our spokesperson on this topic.