HFMD cases have increased in Pahang and Perak.
From January through yesterday, 3,760 instances of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) were reported in Pahang, a 16-fold increase over the 233 cases reported in the same period last year.
Datuk Dr Nor Azimi Yunus, director of the Pahang Health Department, claimed that out of 3,760 instances, 175 cases (4.7%) were caused by proliferation in pre-schools, while the remaining 3,585 cases (95.3%) happened irregularly.
Only 98 instances, or 2.6 percent, were admitted to the hospital for further observation, but not to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Until yesterday, Dr Nor Azimi said the agency had visited 505 childcare centres and kindergartens across the state, of which 35 had been ordered to close under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) and two had voluntarily closed.
During the inspections, she added, health officials also instructed care centre workers to conduct screenings at the front door to check that children arriving did not have symptoms of HFMD, such as fever, blisters on the hands, feet, lips, and tongue, or a lack of appetite.
As of last Monday, 194 HFMD cases have been reported in Perak during epidemiological week 22, a 32-fold increase over the same period last year, when just six cases were reported.
Mohd Akmal Kamarudin, head of the state’s Health, Environment, Science, and Green Technology Committee, said four daycare centres had also been closed due to recurrent occurrences of infection after some parents continued to send their children despite being symptomatic.
There were childcare centre owners who didn’t conduct screenings or didn’t have a dedicated isolation space for sick children.
