After school starts, two diseases are prevalent, parents must pay attention →

After the spring semester begins, hand, foot and mouth disease and herpetic pharyngitis enter a high incidence period, and the risk of clustered epidemics in schools and childcare institutions increases. What are the symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease and herpetic pharyngitis? What are the preventive measures? Let's learn more ↓↓↓

What symptoms will appear after infection?

Hand, foot and mouth disease and herpetic pharyngitis are common acute infectious diseases in children. Children aged 0-5 are susceptible to infection, and the main symptoms are as follows:

• Hand, foot and mouth disease is mainly characterized by fever, oral mucosal herpes or ulcers, and skin rashes on the hands, feet, buttocks and other parts of the body. The symptoms of most patients are mild, while a few patients will develop neurological or cardiopulmonary complications, and severe cases may even be life-threatening.
• Herpangina is mainly characterized by fever, herpes on the oral mucosa and pharyngeal isthmus . The condition is mild and severe cases are rare.

What is the causative pathogen?

Hand, foot and mouth disease and herpangina are both caused by enterovirus infections:

• Common virus types include enterovirus 71 (EV-A71), coxsackie A group 16 (CV-A16), coxsackie A group 6 (CV-A6) and coxsackie A group 10 (CV-A10).
• Among severe cases, the infection rate of EV-A71 is relatively high. Currently, there is an EV-71 vaccine targeting this type of virus. Parents of children under 5 years old are advised to vaccinate them according to their children’s physical condition.

It should be noted that there is no cross-immunity between different types of enterovirus, and vaccination does not necessarily prevent you from getting sick again .

Why do people get hand, foot and mouth disease and herpangina?

There are many ways to spread hand, foot and mouth disease and herpetic pharyngitis, mainly through direct contact with the patient's feces, herpetic fluid, nasopharyngeal secretions, saliva, or indirect contact with contaminated toys, water cups and other objects or environments. In addition, respiratory droplets, coughing, etc. can also spread the virus. What are the preventive measures?

■ Suggestions for teachers and parents:

• Try to avoid taking your children to crowded public places;
• Cultivate children's hygienic habits of washing hands properly after using public items and before meals;
• Public items should be disinfected before use. Items that children often touch, toys, tableware, etc. should be disinfected regularly;
• Clean and disinfect household items;
• If a child develops a fever or rash, he or she should seek medical attention promptly. Hand, foot and mouth disease is highly contagious. Confirmed children should not be sent to public places such as kindergartens or schools. They can return to school 7 days after their symptoms have completely disappeared.

■ School and childcare staff are advised to:

• Regularly dry and disinfect children's bedding and belongings;
• Regularly soak and disinfect toys and teaching aids with chlorine-containing disinfectants;
• Strengthen disinfection of living and learning places such as classrooms, libraries, and student dormitories, and open windows frequently for ventilation.

▌Source : CCTV News WeChat Official Account, Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention