TV hostess, actress, daughter of the former president and sister of the current Philippine president, Kris Aquino and her two sons are afflicted with the viral disease, hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).
This according to a Twitter post: “We r all sick. Josh caught foot & mouth disease. Nahawa Bimby & me. I don’t have the sores around the mouth or the rashes sa hands & feet but my fever went up to 40 last night. We r all taking Zoverax & Immunosin. Ang tibay the 3 yayas, Yaya A, Gerbel & Ruby. Di sila nahawa. Rare daw for an adult to get hawa but u know me -- lapitin ng sakit. Naka isolate kami for at least 1 week.”
What is HFMD?
HFMD is a common viral illness in children and infants which is commonly confused with the animal disease foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease. Foot and mouth disease is a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. Humans do not get the animal disease, and animals do not get the human disease.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by a group of viruses called the enteroviruses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that HFMD outbreaks occur regularly in the spring and summer in China. Other countries in Asia have also reported cases of HFMD. Coxsackievirus A16 is the most common cause of HFMD in the United States.
Infection of HFMD is spread from person to person by direct contact with infectious virus. The virus is found in the nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid, and stool of infected persons. The virus is most often spread by persons with unwashed, virus-contaminated hands and by contact with virus-contaminated surfaces.
Symptoms of HFMD may include fever, headache, vomiting, fatigue, malaise, ear pain, sore throat, non-itchy body rash, sores with blisters on palms of hands and soles of feet, oral ulcer, sores or blisters, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.
Infected persons are most contagious during the first week of the illness. The viruses that cause HFMD can remain in the body for weeks after a patient's symptoms have gone away. This means that the infected person can still pass the infection to other people even though he/she appears well.
There is no specific treatment for HFMD, only symptoms are treated.
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