19 learners isolated over suspected hand, foot and mouth disease

19 learners isolated over suspected hand, foot and mouth disease

Nineteen learners at J & W Mouton Primary School on Farm Karanas near Rehoboth have been instructed to isolate at home for two weeks following suspected cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, a contagious viral infection that mainly affects children.

The school has asked parents to collect the affected learners from its hostel to prevent the illness from spreading, although health authorities say the cases have not yet been formally confirmed.

Despite their similar names, hand, foot and mouth disease in humans and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals are distinct infections caused by different viruses. Hand, foot and mouth disease does not affect livestock, and FMD does not infect humans.

The school's principal, identified only as G Saptow, informed parents that officials from the health ministry had visited the school to screen learners and provide medication to those affected.

“As the disease is contagious among children, the ministry has instructed that the 19 infected learners be isolated at home for two weeks to allow them to recover and prevent further spread,” Saptow said in a notice to parents.

Parents were instructed to arrange transport to collect their children, while the school continued trying to reach those who were at work or could not be contacted by cellphone.

Assessment ongoing

Hardap regional health director Yvonne Stephanus, however, said the cases remained suspected and that health officials were still conducting investigations to establish the nature and extent of the illness.

“The cases are suspected at this stage. I cannot confirm. The team from the health ministry is still on the ground investigating. We will then inform our ED, and the communication will come from his office,” she said yesterday.

Stephanus said the findings would be communicated to the ministry's executive director, Penda Ithindi, who would provide an official update once the regional health team had completed its assessment.

She said the investigation would also determine whether further public health measures were necessary.

The school notice and the health director's comments indicate that precautionary measures have already been introduced while authorities work to confirm the suspected cases.

Different from livestock disease

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral illness that mainly affects infants and young children, causing fever, painful sores inside the mouth and a rash or blisters on the hands and feet.

The illness is entirely different from foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease, which affects cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals.

Hand, foot and mouth disease spreads between people through close contact, respiratory droplets, contaminated surfaces and contact with fluid from blisters or infected faeces.

The infection can spread quickly in schools, hostels and other places where children spend time together, making isolation and hygiene measures important in limiting transmission.

Most children recover within seven to 10 days, although complications can occasionally occur.