HFMD cases in Capiz rise to 269

CAPIZ – Cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in this province reached 269 as of April 16, or Morbidity Week 15, data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO)-Provincial Weekly Notifiable Diseases Case Bulletin showed.

HFMD is characterized by painful sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. Commonly caused by the coxsackievirus, this contagious infection occurs mostly in children. Infected individuals are most contagious during the first week.

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