By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental provincial administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz is dismayed over the reported 6,300 percent increase in cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in the province recently.

Diaz found that the cases were not confirmed and were tagged as suspected cases instead.

He told the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to be responsible with the data they are releasing, especially if there are no confirmatory test results coming from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Diaz also found out that there is no concrete program yet as to how to combat the spread of HFMD.

He told the PHO that there are a lot of problems that need to be fixed — not just diseases — but also proper nutrition and sanitation among Negrenses.

Previously, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he had not received a recommendation from the PHO to declare an HFMD outbreak in the province, with the PHO stating that the number of cases has not yet hit the required threshold for the declaration of an outbreak.

Meanwhile, Lacson advised the Department of Education in Negros Occidental to continue observing their students for any symptoms of HFMD. If they notice that the student is unwell, he or she must immediately be sent home and undergo quarantine.

Most of the cases are children below 10 years old, the report showed.

From January 1 to 31, the PHO recorded 320 HFMD cases — a very sharp rise from five cases recorded in the same period last year.

Kabankalan City has the highest number of HFMD cases with 73.

Among the municipalities in the province, Cauayan has the most cases with 41.

HFMD is characterized by painful sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet.

The illness spreads through direct contact with droplets from coughing or sneezing, touching an infected person or through kissing, hugging or sharing utensils, contact with an infected person’s feces, and touching infected objects and surfaces.

HFMD also includes the following symptoms:

• fever
• sore throat
• feeling unwell
• painful, red, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks
• a red rash, without itching but sometimes with blistering on the palms, soles, and sometimes the buttocks
• irritability in infants and toddlers
• loss of appetite./DGB, WDJ