Abstract
The study employed a descriptive approach, aimed at confirming the medical diagnosis
of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and attempted to identify infected people,
disease transmission and appropriate measures for disease prevention and control in a
child development center in Sainoi District, Nonthaburi Province. Patients’ data were
collected from investigation reports, OPD card, and laboratory reports. This center served a total of 159 children and 20 personnel, including nursery shcool teachers, assistant teachers, house-maids and cooks (and/or their parents). They were interviewed and examined for the disease during the period July 16 - August 1, 2007. Surveillance data on
HFMD from 506 reports for Nonthaburi Province from 2002 to 2007 were also reviewed.
An environmental survey was conducted in the center to determine the possible mode of
transmission. During the period July 13 to 27, 2007, three cases (1.9 %) out of the 159 children who visited the center were found to have HFMD. In the first case, the onset of clinical symptoms occurred on July 13, 2007; in the 2nd and 3rd cases symptoms were observed on July 16, 2007. All three cases were 3 years old. One case was a boy and the others were girls. No case died in this outbreak. The stool specimens obtained from two cases were negative for enterovirus 71, the organism causing severe HFMD. The possible common-source transmission of this disease might be from contact with the contaminated toys, common equipment or places used by children, and droplet spread. Prevention and control measures included massive health education, early detection of suspected HFMD cases, reduction in the transmission from humans to humans by closing the center concerned, and setting up disease prevention and control regimes in the patients’ houses, the center, and the community. No subsequent cases were detected after implementing the control measures.
