The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency urged adherence to preventive measures and strengthened hygiene management for infants and young children, as the proportion of suspected hand, foot, and mouth disease cases has increased approximately 33-fold over the past 12 weeks based on the results of sample surveillance conducted on 93 clinics nationwide.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is an acute viral disease that primarily affects infants and young children under the age of five. It can be contracted through direct contact with an infected person’s feces or secretions (saliva, phlegm, nasal discharge, fluid from blisters, etc.) or by touching contaminated objects. Major symptoms include fever, sore throat, and loss of appetite. One to two days after the fever, small red spots may appear inside the mouth on the inner cheeks, gums, and tongue, along with rashes on the skin of the hands and feet.
In addition, symptoms improve after 3 to 4 days and most people recover after 7 to 10 days, but because complications such as meningitis and encephalitis can rarely occur, you should visit a medical institution for treatment if hand, foot, and mouth disease symptoms worsen.
The best way to prevent hand, foot, and mouth disease is to strictly maintain personal hygiene, such as washing hands properly upon returning home from outside, before and after meals, before and after changing diapers, and after caring for a patient. Daycare centers and kindergartens should strengthen disinfection management for frequently touched surfaces like toys and doorknobs, as well as shared items, and provide guidance and education to ensure strict adherence to preventive measures, such as handwashing.
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In particular, because hand, foot, and mouth disease is highly contagious, parents should refrain from sending their children to daycare centers or kindergartens until the patient’s blisters have completely healed, and should also avoid using multi-use facilities frequently visited by infants and toddlers, such as kids’ cafes, cultural centers, and swimming pools.
Facilities where Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease has occurred must thoroughly wash and disinfect all items contaminated with patient secretions (feces, saliva, etc.), including contact surfaces such as doorknobs. When disinfecting, commercially available bleach (4% sodium hypochlorite) should be diluted (bleach 1: water 7) and wiped using an absorbent material such as a cloth or tissue. During washing and disinfection, be sure to wear a KF94 mask and gloves to prevent infection through droplets.
The Coxsackievirus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease has strong resistance to alcohol disinfectants, so it is difficult to expect sufficient disinfection effects with regular alcohol hand sanitizers or disinfectant ethanol.
Lim Seung-kwan, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, urged childcare facilities to strictly manage hygiene, including proper handwashing education and disinfection of equipment, as the number of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases among infants and toddlers has been continuously increasing recently. He also requested that parents cooperate by ensuring their children return to school only after they have fully recovered from HFMD to prevent further spread. In addition, he urged multi-use facilities frequently visited by infants and toddlers, such as kids’ cafes and cultural centers, to strengthen disinfection measures within their premises.