BANGKOK, 10 January 2014 The Ministry of Public Health has dispatched health officials to schools and communities where hand-foot-and-mouth disease was reported on Thursday. Meanwhile a kindergartner in Bangkok has succumbed to the disease.
According to the ministry, 2 more children have been diagnosed with the disease. Their conditions were not serious. The school with the outbreak has been ordered to close for 6 days so clean-up can commence. School staff have also been asked to check for disease symptoms among the students. If any child is found with fever and vesicle-type skin lesion, he/she must be isolated from other children and the Department of Disease Control notified. Health officials said people should wash their hands regularly to prevent disease contraction.
3 people lost their lives to the disease in 2013, out of a total of 44,594 patients. The strains found in Thailand can cause complications such as brain stem encephalitis, abnormal heart function, and heart failure.
