Enterovirus 71 virus causing severe hand, foot and mouth disease reappears

Erythematous rash on the legs of a child with hand, foot and mouth disease.

The number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases in Ho Chi Minh City is still lower than the same period in 2022. However, the city's Department of Health warned that there has been a reappearance of the Enterovirus 71 (EV71) virus - a highly virulent strain that causes severe illness in children.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, in week 21 (from May 22 to May 28), the whole city recorded 157 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, an increase of 47.1% compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks (107 cases). The number of cases increased in both inpatient and outpatient cases.

Since the beginning of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City has had 1,670 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in children. Although the number of cases is still lower than the same period in 2022, what is worrying is that PCR test results in some severe cases show the return of the Enterovirus 71 (EV71) virus.

Notably, recently, a child patient died of hand, foot and mouth disease at Children's Hospital 1. This child patient was transferred from Tien Giang Provincial General Hospital.

Hospitals in the area are treating 31 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease. All are children under 5 years old. Of the 31 cases being treated, 7 are severe and 4 of them have been confirmed to be caused by the EV71 virus.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health is collaborating with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) to sequence the genes to identify the dangerous strains of EV71, which caused many deaths during the 2011 outbreak.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, currently, hospitals in the area can perform diagnostic tests for the causative agent of hand, foot and mouth disease. However, according to the Ministry of Health's diagnosis and treatment guidelines, diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and only tests for the agent are performed in severe cases to differentiate from other diseases and for epidemiological research.

The Department of Health has established a team of experts to support consultation on serious cases and organize inspection teams in districts on hand, foot and mouth disease prevention and control.

Faced with the possibility that the hand, foot and mouth disease epidemic may increase in the coming time, Ho Chi Minh City's pediatric hospitals have prepared equipment to resuscitate severe cases (blood filtration, ECMO...) and medication according to the treatment regimen.

However, to be more proactive in responding to the complicated developments of the epidemic, the Department of Health has sent a document reporting to the Ministry of Health and the Department of Drug Administration to support the supply of adequate treatment drugs (especially two types of drugs Phenobarbital intravenously and Gamma Globulin intravenously).

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health directed the City Center for Disease Control to activate rapid response teams and all district and Thu Duc City Health Centers to immediately initiate activities to prevent, control and eradicate hand, foot and mouth disease in the area, especially in households and schools.

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health recommends that hand washing is the most important measure to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease. Parents need to regularly clean children's toys and clean their homes with soap, bleach or common disinfectants. Early detection of signs of hand, foot and mouth disease in children (blisters on palms, soles, mouth ulcers...) for timely isolation and to limit the spread.

When children have hand, foot and mouth disease, parents need to closely monitor and detect early severe signs (high fever that is difficult to reduce, frequent vomiting, startle, trembling hands and feet...) to take the child to medical facilities for timely treatment./.

According to VNA

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