ANTIQUE – Local health officials, the Department of Education (DepEd), the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and punong barangays in the town of Tobas Fornier in this province are encouraged to implement precautionary measures and safety initiatives to prevent the spread of the hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD).
HFMD is characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. It is a contagious infection that occurs mostly in children and can be painful.
On Jan. 23, Mayor Ernesto Tajanlangit III issued Memorandum Order No. 01-EOT, which noted that the number of persons infected with the disease, especially children, has reached alarming levels.
He urged everyone to be vigilant, and for authorities to conduct intensive monitoring and submit periodic reports.
He also recommended that children with HFMD symptoms be isolated for seven days and referred to health personnel until such symptoms disappear.
Schools with five or more pupils suspected of having HFMD should conduct two days of disinfection and cleaning of classrooms and school premises.
HFMD may cause all of the following signs and symptoms or just some of them:
* fever
* sore throat
* feeling unwell
* painful, red, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks
* a red rash, without itching but sometimes with blistering, on the palms, soles, and sometimes the buttocks
* irritability in infants and toddlers
* loss of appetite./PN
