ALOR STAR: The downward trend of new Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) cases in Kedah continued for the fourth consecutive week, with no new clusters being reported in the past seven days.
State Health and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman said 342 fresh cases were reported in the 25th Epidemiology Week (EW25) from June 19 to 25.
"Compared with the previous week, this is a decline of 189 cases, or 35.9 per cent.
"No new outbreaks were reported during EW25," he said in a statement.
The state recorded 531 cases during EW24, a decrease of 24.4 per cent compared with the number of cases recorded in the previous week.
Dr Mohd Hayati added that until June 25, the cumulative number of HFMD cases reported in Kedah increased to 5,767 cases, a jump of 587.4 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Kuala Muda district recorded the highest number of cases with 1,440 cases, followed by Kulim (868 cases), Kubang Pasu (830) cases and Kota Setar (562 cases).
"All the cases reported mild symptoms and received outpatient treatment. No cases reported severe complications or required intensive treatment,."
Dr Mohd Hayati said he was confident that the HFMD infections in the state would be brought under control soon, should the people play their part in containing the spread.
Early this month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was reported as saying that the HFMD infection cases nationwide would see a downward trend within the next two or three weeks.
He had said this projection was based on the theory that children's immunity levels improve after being exposed to the virus, as HFMD is a localised, seasonal disease.
Since early this year, 51 outbreaks of HFMD were reported in Kedah, with 50 of them reported in early childhood education centers.
HFMD is caused by infection from various types of viruses, especially the Coxsackie A16 virus and Enterovirus 71 (EV71).
The virus spreads through contact via saliva, blisters and faeces and most infections show mild symptoms, such as fever followed by a blistering rash on the hands, feet, mouth, and tongue.
Almost all patients with HFMD recover with no specific treatment within seven to 10 days.
However, EV71 infection can cause severe complications, such as encephalitis (brain infection), pneumonitis (lung infection), and myocarditis (heart muscle infection).
The Kedah Health Department advised the public, especially those with young children, to take the precautions to reduce the risk of infection, including maintaining personal hygiene and washing hands regularly, with water and soap or hand sanitiser.