Recently, Malaysia has seen a surge in cases involving the highly contagious Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) across a number of states, with Penang being the most hard hit by the disease, causing a number of schools to temporarily close.
Between 1st January and 23rd July, 35,886 cases of HFMD have been reported nationwide, according to Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. Now, it looks like the disease has spread to Kuala Lumpur based on this recent report.
Source: Kosmo
According to the Malay Mail, an official from the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Education Department confirmed that four cases of HFMD were reported among Standard 3 boys from Sekolah Rendah Taman Tun Dr Ismail 2.
The four boys’ classroom has reportedly been ordered to close, and all 36 students will be on a 10-day break for the room to be disinfected. However, other classes are still open and school activities are being carried out as usual.
The official was quoted as saying,
“According to the notice issued by the Kepong District Health Department, only the classroom involved was closed from yesterday. The notice of closure was to allow cleaning and disinfecting works to be carried out besides ensuring that other students are not infected.”
Source: Wikipedia
Most recently, as sanitisation efforts are underway in Penang to prevent the disease from spreading, it was discovered that traces of HFMD were found on the handlebars and child ride equipment on supermarket trolleys. This could have been how the disease started to spread rampantly.
Be sure to take extra caution when you’re out in public, and know the signs of HFMD so you can get treated before the symptoms get worse!
Also read: Penang Shuts Down 63 Premises Due to HFMD, Here’s How to Spot the Symptoms
