Patient's question:
The baby has had a fever since coming back yesterday. This morning, blisters have appeared in their mouth and on their hands. It is said that they have hand, foot, and mouth disease. I want to understand what are the ways of transmission for hand, foot, and mouth disease?Doctor's answer:
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common infectious disease caused by enteroviruses. Its virus has very strong transmissibility, so it is essential to cut off the transmission routes of hand, foot, and mouth disease during prevention efforts. During outbreaks, the source of infection is primarily patients, who excrete the virus from the pharynx 1 to 2 weeks after onset, and the virus can be found in feces for about 3 to 5 weeks. The vesicular fluid contains a high amount of virus, and the virus is released when the vesicles rupture. During outbreaks, the main mode of transmission is through contact with infected children, and indirect contact can also lead to the transmission of hand, foot, and mouth disease. This is because the virus can contaminate contact surfaces through saliva, vesicular fluid, feces, and other means. Therefore, touching utensils, toys, and other items of infected children may lead to indirect contact transmission.