Schools in Delhi issue advisories on hand, foot and mouth disease

Rashes or blisters on the hands, foot, forearm and mouth are some of the symptoms of the disease. There are no vaccines available for the highly contagious infection.

Amid a spike in cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in recent weeks, schools in the Capital are taking various measures to sensitise parents about the viral infection that affects young children below the age of 10. While some schools have issued advisories to parents, others conducted orientation sessions to apprise them about the disease whose cases are being reported from various other cities in the country.

Parents have also been asked by the school to check for symptoms of HFMD and inform their respective class teacher if their child is diagnosed with the disease. (For representational purpose only))

Rashes or blisters on the hands, foot, forearm and mouth are some of the symptoms of the disease. There are no vaccines available for the highly contagious infection.

Richa Sharma Agnihotri, principal of Sanskriti School, said that the school had issued an advisory for parents on its website and circulated it among parents. ‘For hand, foot and mouth disease, we have already issued an advisory for parents. We have informed parents about the Dos and Don’ts and the measures they should take while sending children to school,” said Agnihotri.

The advisory issued by the school’s in-house doctor last Thursday outlines signs and symptoms, treatment, and preventive measures. “A few cases of Hand, foot and Mouth disease (HFMD) have been reported among students of junior school in the past one week. It is a common, self- limiting but highly contagious viral disease that usually affects infants and children of less than 5 years old. But, sometimes even older children and adults may be affected,” states the advisory issued by the school.

Parents have also been asked by the school to check for symptoms of HFMD and inform their respective class teacher if their child is diagnosed with the disease. Further, parents have been asked to not send children to school until rashes have healed completely and fever has subsided for at least 24 hours. “Any child with rash should avail a medical prescription from a consulting doctor stating that he/she is not contagious or infectious if the child is rejoining class before contagious period i.e. 7 days from onset of symptoms, “states the advisory.

Tania Joshi, principal of The Indian School, said that while cases had not been reported, there were concerns among the parents regarding the disease. Joshi said that the school had addressed parents’ concerns during an orientation session. ‘There were some concerns among parents. We have told them that they should keep an eye out on symptoms and keep the child at home if they suspect an illness. We are also sanitizing rooms twice a day and carrying out fogging to provide a secure environment at school,” said Joshi.

RK Alwadhi, a pediatrician, and principal consultant, BL Kapur hospital, said that the city was witnessing more than the usual number of cases this year. “If any child has any kind of rash, he should be promptly isolated as soon as possible. The disease affects young children, children in preschool or early school, or children under the age of 10. Since it’s a viral infection, there is no vaccine against it,” said Alwadhi.