Suspected HFMD Cases Under Investigation

03 Jan 2001

JOINT PRESS RELEASE BY

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT (ENV),

MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SPORTS (MCDS),

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (MOE)

AND MINISTRY OF HEALTH (MOH) :

The Ministry of the Environment (ENV) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) were notified this morning of the death of a four-year old boy of suspected hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). The boy fell ill on 31 December 2000. His condition deteriorated in the early hours of 3 January 2001 at home and subsequently died on the way to hospital. Postmortem investigations are in progress.

Preliminary investigations revealed that three Singaporean families comprising six adults and seven children, including the deceased, had recently travelled together. Six of the seven children became ill several days after returning to Singapore. The four-year old who died and two others had symptoms suggestive of HFMD. As a precautionary measure, all the children who travelled together have been placed under observation at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital. All are in stable condition.

Pre-school centres are being reminded 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.

HFMD Situation in Singapore

The number of HFMD cases in Singapore is at a very low level. Over the last eight weeks, there was an average of 50 cases a week. In the last 2 weeks of December 2000, there were 45 and 29 cases respectively.