The Health Department is planning to conduct a detailed study on hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) with the technical support of the Manipal Centre for Virus Research in the wake of a rise in the disease in Wayanad district during monsoon.
“The contagious disease usually spreads during summer, but 83 HFMD cases were reported in the district in June alone,” Asadevi, District Medical Officer, Wayanad, said.
The Coxsackie A 15 virus or the Enterovirus 71 causes the disease, resulting in rashes and sores in the mouth, hands, legs and the lower back on some occasions. The virus usually spreads through air when an affected person sneezes or through nasal discharge. It can also spread when the skin rash is filled with pus, she says.
While children are most susceptible, adults are also likely to be affected. Symptoms usually range from a low or high grade fever followed by sore throat that quickly spreads inside the mouth and could turn into ulcers. These sores then spread to the hands and feet. These may look similar to chickenpox but are not necessarily painful, she says.
“Usually the HFMD is not fatal but when the disease is caused by Enterovirus it may be fatal even in adults, especially when it affects the brain or heart, P. Jayesh, Deputy District Medical Officer, says.
Likely reason
“We suspect that a mutation to the virus owing to recent climatic change in the district may be the cause of the rise in the disease during monsoon, but it can be ascertained only after a detailed study,” Dr. Jayesh, who undertakes the study, says.
The study envisages to isolate the virus from throat swabs or blood samples collected from patients.
