Disease warning
The Public Health Ministry yesterday instructed schools and nurseries nationwide to close if they find that students in five classes or more have contracted hand, foot and mouth disease.
The move follows reports that at least 64 children have died in Cambodia since April after being infected with enterovirus 71, which is known to cause the disease.
In Thailand, about 10,813 children are believed to have caught the disease from January up till last week, but there have been no reports of any fatalities here.
Disease Control Department director-general Dr Pornthep Siriwanarangsan said the strain of hand, foot and mouth disease currently spreading in the country was not a virulent one.
It is recommended that children with fever, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums or inside of the cheeks, or a pimple-like rash on the hands and feet be taken to a clinic for treatment.
About 20,000 nurseries have been told to suspend classes if they find that two or more children have been infected with the virus. Schools that find infected students in five classes have been told to close.
Four children at a nursery in Kanchanaburi were diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease this week, but the virus was Coxsackie, which is different from the type found in Cambodia. The nursery has been closed for seven days for a clean-up.
