Cybermed Update December 2000
"If you believe everything you read, better not read." -- Japanese proverb
Enterovirus 71 updates
Two recent postings (Joint Press Release) by Ministries of The Environment; Health; Community Development and Sports; and Education, Singapore on Thu 4 Jan 2001 <Press Release> . The source of this case could have either been from Singapore or Pontian, Johore, Malaysia. I feel as HFM is endemic, we have to be always vigilant particularly among children attending nursery, kindergarten and primary school. I have enclosed their latest update report below.
"The Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, has identified enterovirus 71 (EV71), one of the several viruses associated with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), in postmortem samples taken from the four-year old boy who died on 3 Jan 01. Full postmortem investigations are underway.
The HFMD Taskforce's investigations revealed that three families had travelled together to Pontian, Johor to visit the deceased's grandmother, between 23rd and 26th December 00. One of the children developed HFMD-like illness on the 26 December upon return to Singapore. At the same time, a baby who was in the care of the grandmother in Pontian also developed a viral illness.
The deceased developed symptoms later on 31 December and subsequent to this, four other children, including one who is resident in Pontian, also developed HFMD-like illness.
The HFMD Taskforce considered the following two scenarios in tracing the source of possible infection.
(a) the children went to Pontian in good health and were exposed to the virus there; or
(b) some of the children in the Singapore group were already infected before they went to Pontian, infected the children there, and came back and fell ill.
Based on the pattern of the incubation period of HFMD, the Taskforce is of the opinion that either of the two scenarios above is possible.
As part of our close cooperation with the regional health authorities, Singapore's public health authorities have alerted their counterparts in Johor Bahru of the situation.
Update on the cases in hospital
Altogether, eight children ranging from 3 months to 7- years old were warded in KKH on 3 Jan. Two of them were residents of Pontian who sought medical treatment here after attending the funeral of the deceased. Six of the children have since been discharged from hospital, including the two children from Pontian. The remaining two continue to be in stable condition. As a precautionary measure, the children's parents have been advised to keep them at home for another week.
HFMD Situation in Singapore
There has been no sudden increases in the number of HFMD cases in Singapore. Over the last eight weeks, there was an average of 50 cases a week. In the last two weeks of December 2000, there were 45 and 29 cases respectively. And in the first three days of this year, there was an average of 10 cases a day.
Officers from the Quarantine and Epidemiology Department, Ministry of the Environment have visited the pre-school centres the children attend. All observe good hygiene and no children were found to show any signs of possible HFMD infection.
The Taskforce would like to remind all pre-school centres to observe proper hygiene and sanitation in their premises and isolate any child who is unwell. Parents are reminded not to send their child who is unwell to school but to seek medical attention and let the child rest at home. "
An estimated 75 million people look for medical information on the Internet. But can they trust what they find? MerckHomeEdition.com, the first complete medical reference available free on the Internet, is now interactive and features audio and video. Users can log on to see video of an ultrasound, animations of how the heart functions, even X-ray images. They can hear the sound of a fetal heartbeat and how to pronounce complicated medical terms.
MerckHomeEdition.com contains the same medical information as The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, a reference that doctors have trusted for 101 years. But, it's written in everyday language and an asset for those who want medical information that's not over their heads or below their doctor's standards.
The best-selling medical reference, that has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, source for complete and comprehensive medical information. Health-care professionals have turned to The Merck Manual for more than a century. Now this information is available to you, in easy-to-understand English. This ultimate online health reference is brought to you as a service from Merck & Co., Inc., the company committed to providing quality medical information on a not-for-profit basis for more than 100 years. In both versions, you will find in-depth information, written by nearly 200 leading medical experts, on the health issues that matter most to you.
Wishing all MMA members a Very Happy New Year 2001!
With that I let your "mouse" or your "keyboard" do the "talking".
Till next month, "Happy Surfing".
Cyberdoc ( vadivale@yahoo.com )
The links to URL mentioned above are valid at the time of writing (6 January 2001).
Updated 15 January 2006.
This page can be accessed at http://www.vadscorner.com/internet46.html or at http://www.vadscorner.com/mma_internet.html.