ILOILO – “Damo-damo gid.” So many. This was how the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) described the surge in cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in the province. Most of the cases were children.
For the past six months beginning Jan. 1, the IPHO recorded 274 HFMD cases – 6,750 percent higher than the four cases reported in the first half of 2021.
Provincial health officer Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon urged parents to make sure their children practice good hygiene, and specifically to disinfect their hands frequently.
HFMD is a common infectious disease that occurs most often in children. In most cases, the symptoms are painful sores in the mouth, fever, and a rash with blisters on the feet, hands and buttocks.
“Ang aton cases damo-damo gid,” said Quiñon, adding that parents or guardians are key to preventing the disease from further spreading.
They should make it a point to wash their children after playing, she stressed.
“Ang mga bata man eh, kon may ara gani sang hand-foot-and-mouth disease ang iya kamot…For example naga-start sa kamot pa lang, indi ya na pagtandog sa ilong or baba. Butangan sia sang gloves if possible,” added Quiñon.
According to the World Health Organization, while HFMD is a common infectious disease that occurs most often in children, it can also occur in adolescents and occasionally in adults.
In most cases, the disease is mild and self-limiting. However, more severe symptoms such as meningitis, encephalitis and polio-like paralysis may occur, according to WHO.
Quiñon said HFMD is not fatal but contagious and could cause so much inconvenience to a patient such has not being able to eat property if the blisters are in the mouth.
“When the appetite is affected, maniwang ang bata,” said Quiñon.
Data from the IPHO showed the extent of HFMD cases in Iloilo:
* San Dionisio (62)
* Concepcion (61)
* San Rafael (20)
* Banate (19)
* Pavia (14)
* Cabatuan (13)
* Calinog (10)
* Ajuy (10)
* Igbaras (nine)
* Zarraga (nine)
* Dueñas (nine)
* Barotac Viejo (eight)
* Leon (eight)
* Bingawan (seven)
* New Lucena (seven)
* San Joaquin (seven)
* Mina (six)
* Pototan (six)
* Miag-ao (five)
* Passi City (four)
* Sara (three)
* Anilao (three)
* Dingle (three)
* Janiuay (two)
* Santa Barbara (two)
* Lambunao (two)
* Lemery (one)
* Barotac Nuevo (one)
* Guimbal (one)
* Tigbauan (one)
* Tubungan (one)
Of Iloilo’s 42 towns, only 12 are left with no HFMD yet – Alimodian, Badiangan, Balasan, Batad, Carles, Dumangas, Estancia, Leganes, Maasin, Oton, San Enrique, and San Miguel.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States, children with HFMD often get a fever and other flu-like symptoms three to six days after they catch the virus. Symptoms may include fever, eating or drinking less, sore throat, and feeling unwell.
Other symptoms may appear over the next few days.
One or two days after the fever starts, the infected child may get painful mouth sores (herpangina). These sores usually start as small red spots, often in the back of their mouth, that blister and can become painful.
Signs that swallowing may be painful for the child are: not eating or drinking, drooling more than usual, and only wanting to drink cold fluids.
The infected child may get a skin rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It may also show up on the knees, elbows, buttocks, or genital area.
The rash usually looks like flat, red spots, sometimes with blisters. Fluid in the blister and the resulting scab that forms as the blister heals may contain the virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Keep blisters or scabs clean and avoid touching them, according to the CDC./PN
