Health Alert

We are seeing an increase in children diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in our schools and throughout the county.  HFMD is a common viral illness that usually affects infants and young children.   The first symptoms of HFMD are usually fever, sore throat, loss of appetite and feeling sick.  Several days after fever begins, small red spots develop in the mouth that may turn into blisters or ulcers.  A skin rash can also develop on the hands, feet, and buttocks, and sometimes on the arms and legs.  Not everyone with HFMD has all these symptoms.

HFMD is ​a communicable disease spread by contact with an infected person’s stool, nasal discharge, saliva or blister fluid.  A person is most contagious during the first week of the illness but may remain contagious for several weeks in the infected persons stool.  Symptoms of HFMD usually appear 3-7 days after initial exposure and infection.  

If you suspect your child has HFMD please contact your child’s health provider for diagnosis and other suggestion on how to treat the disease.

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If your student is diagnose​d​ with HFM​D​, your child will be allowed to return to school only with licensed health care provider permission or when the blisters are gone.  

​Please encourage your student to cover their coughs and sneezes and to wash hands after using the toilet​ to ​prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

More information can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/hand-foot-mouth