No HFMD outbreak

THERE is no outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) says Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh.

He gave this assurance yesterday to reporters after delivering the feature address at the 33rd Meeting of the Caribbean Immunization Managers Programme at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s.

He said there were approximately eight cases in the Central area, and the county medical officer sent out an internal memo to colleagues to look out for it. “That internal memo found its way onto social media, then the press picked it up in the main stream media. There is no outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease in Trinidad and Tobago. We have always had in Trinidad and Tobago isolated cases of it, and once we do, we sanitise, and we control it to prevent a national outbreak,” Deyalsingh said.

He said the HFMD normally passes on its own once treated with paracetamol and fluids and while it is not life threatening, it is contagious just like the flu.