Hand, foot and mouth disease on the rise

When two-year-old Shriya Kriplani had fever, her mother thought it was viral. But when she saw blisters popping up on her little palms, feet and tongue, she rushed her to a paediatrician. The doctor diagnosed the condition as hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

Doctors say many children in the city are down with HFMD and this year their condition is severe in nature. Dr Mukesh Sanklecha, paediatrician at Bombay Hospital, said, "In the past two-three weeks, there has been an unusual rise in HFMD cases. Apart from developing blisters on the body, a child with HFMD turns cranky and irritable." He added that many children who got HFMD last year are also coming back to him.

HFMD is commonly caused by 'coxsackievirus A16', which is self limiting, and it affects children below four years of age. Doctors, however, feel that this time, there is a different HFMD virus strain in air in Mumbai.

Dr Mukesh Agarwal, head of paediatric department in KEM Hospital, said, "This time, the cases have been severe. The blisters are bigger and more like chicken pox. We need awareness among parents on HFMD. In severe cases, HFMD can affect the brain, cause liver or muscle damage etc. However, we have not seen any of these severity."

Agreeing to Dr Agarwal, Dr Sonu Udani, paediatrician attached to PD Hinduja Hospital, most of the HFMD cases are seen in children attending play groups. "The HFMD cases are definitely different this year. It looks more like chicken pox. We advice parents not to send the infected child to play group or nursery school as the disease is highly infectious." 

"We advice isolating the child for at least two weeks," emphasised Dr Agarwal.