No shutdown of childcare centres in Kedah, says state exco man
PENDANG: No childcare premises in Kedah have been ordered to close over an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).
However, all operators had been ordered to be on alert to ensure the safety of children in their care.
State Health and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman said the state Health Department was focused on raising awareness among parents of the outbreak.
“The department is focusing on educating the public about the disease, isolating or keeping infected individuals in quarantine, and, most importantly, raising awareness among parents about the outbreak through all forms of media.
“We also want nursery and kindergarten operators to be on alert to the presence of any symptoms in children under their care.
“If the children present any symptoms, such as rashes on the feet, mouth, and hands, make sure they are quarantined at home,” he said when met during the Pendang Parliament and Tokai state constituencies Hari Raya Open House here yesterday.
He said although the number of serious infections in the state was relatively low, it was a major cause for concern as it involved children’s health and safety.
He added that another worrying factor was that the HFMD virus could easily be transmitted among children at nurseries, playgrounds and kindergartens.
“There are 102 reported cases of HFMD, with Kuala Muda, Kota
Setar and Padang Terap being the three most-affected districts with 29, 22 and 17 cases, respectively.
“Reports that the number of infections had increased by 15-fold elsewhere in the country are not applicable to Kedah as we have only seen a 46 per cent increase in cases compared with the same period in 2019.
“That being said, it is concerning as this disease can occur anytime and anywhere because it spreads through various types of viruses. If one of them spreads, then it is easy for it to become an outbreak.
“We need to be careful and always take precautions, maintain physical distancing and good hygiene as we did during the Covid-19 pandemic as that is the best way to prevent the spread of this disease,” he added.
He said there was no vaccine for the disease since it was spread by many different viruses. Infected patients, he said, would be treated based on the symptoms.
He also reminded the authorities to take action over the recent surge of dengue cases in Taman Malinja, Kubang Pasu.
“The source of the outbreak in Taman Malinja in Jitra is a nearby abandoned piece of land, which was used by residents to farm chickens, birds and all sorts of livestock.
“This led to pools of stagnant water in the area, giving rise to Aedes mosquitoes breeding in large numbers and, subsequently, a dengue outbreak.”