KL, Putrajaya record 6,197 HFMD cases within past week
Amid the rising number of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases nationwide, the Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories Health Department said a total of 6,197 new cases under its jurisdiction had been reported within the past epidemiological week (ME20/22).
The Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories health director Dr Nor Aishah Abu Bakar said this figure is 14 times higher than the same epidemiological week in 2021 (ME20/21), which only recorded 403 cases.
“Meanwhile, the number of weekly cases reported in ME20/22 was...
Amid the rising number of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases nationwide, the Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories Health Department said a total of 6,197 new cases under its jurisdiction had been reported within the past epidemiological week (ME20/22).
The Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories health director Dr Nor Aishah Abu Bakar said this figure is 14 times higher than the same epidemiological week in 2021 (ME20/21), which only recorded 403 cases.
“Meanwhile, the number of weekly cases reported in ME20/22 was 1,163 cases compared to 1,138 cases in the 19th epidemiological week (ME19/22), which is an increase of 2.2 percent,” Nor Aishah said in a statement today.
Similarly, a total of 408 outbreaks of HFMD cases were recorded in ME20/22, a stark increase from the 32 outbreaks seen in ME20/21.
HFMD cases are classified as an outbreak if two or more cases occur within the same incubation period and in the same locality.
Govt mulls closing kindergartens
Recent weeks have seen a significant increase in reported HFMD cases in states such as Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Penang and Terengganu.
Malacca, in particular, has ordered nurseries, kindergartens and childcare centres with more than four HFMD cases to be closed for 10 days.
The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has also said it will examine the need to close kindergartens and child care centres to prevent the spread of HFMD.
HFMD is a viral disease that occurs mainly in children under 10 years of age but can also affect older children and adults.
As such, to prevent the spread of the disease, Nor Aishah advised parents or guardians of children with HFMD symptoms to avoid bringing children to public places including kindergartens, nurseries and childcare centres.
They should also seek medical advice and treatment for the child immediately and have the child use separate cutleries during mealtimes, among others.
“Besides that, kindergarten, nursery and childcare centre operators are advised to conduct screening at their entrances to ensure only children without HFMD symptoms are allowed to enter the premises and interact with other children,” Nor Aishah said.
She also urged the general public to be more aware of the importance of good hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the HFMD disease.
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