It’s not just you - we’re seeing hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) skyrocket across the country. In October, the rate of doctor’s visits for HFMD was more than triple the highest from last year. It’s partially driven by big outbreaks, like one that ripped through 30+ childcare facilities in Tennessee in October, infecting over 175 kids and staff. There are similar surges in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey.
Symptoms of HFMD include fever, sore throat, mouth sores, and a rash on the hands and feet. It’s caused by a virus and is most common in young kids, but adults can get it, too. It’s not very serious, but it’s very infectious. It spreads from respiratory droplets, fluids from the blisters, poop, and can even live on surfaces, so it’s relatively easy for parents or caregivers to catch it from young kids.
In the past, it’s been relatively rare for adults to report HFMD for two reasons: 1) they’ve had it before as kids and have some amount of immunity, and 2) they often have no symptoms or very mild ones. That said, even doctors agree that they’re seeing more adults with HFMD lately. Some speculate that it’s because of a new strain, though there’s very little data on this because HFMD isn’t a nationally notifiable disease. We’re mostly piecing together state-by-state data, and many doctors don’t test adults for HFMD.
If you have employees with hand, foot, and mouth disease, they should stay home until their rash has completely healed and all sores are scabbed over, which can be around a week or slightly longer. They may be able to return sooner with a doctor’s note as long as they’re at least 24-hours fever-free.
Sources: VDH, CNN, Medscape, Fox, NY Times
For an interesting and different read, we loved learning about how scientists used teeth from a Lithuanian gravesite to ID two infectious diseases that ravaged Napoleon’s troops as they withdrew from Russia.