Cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease at St. Ann Schools Contained

The St. Ann Health Department has successfully contained an increase in cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) that affected several early childhood institutions between September and October 2024.

Chief Public Health Inspector for the parish, Leroy Scott, who provided an update during Thursday’s (November 14) monthly sitting of the St. Ann Municipal Corporation in St. Ann’s Bay, indicated that “things have returned to normal at all educational institutions that were affected.”

He said the parish received notifications of HFMD from 39 schools with a total population of 4,484 students. From these notifications, some 298 suspected cases were recorded, representing approximately 6.6 per cent of the total population of the schools.

“This disease primarily affects pre-school age children, and these were mainly early childhood institutions that were affected,” Mr. Scott pointed out.

He said in response to the outbreak, the St. Ann Health Department implemented strict protocols and guidelines.

Schools with infection rates exceeding 10 per cent of their student population were advised to suspend operations, while those with lower rates were allowed to continue classes under stringent preventative measures.

“However, the majority of the institutions closed either voluntarily or from the recommendations made by the Department,” Mr. Scott indicated.

Moreover, he said the Department took proactive steps to control the spread of the disease by carrying out disinfection at each of the affected schools and closely monitoring activities until the outbreak subsided.

“So all the institutions have since returned to normal classes,” Mr. Scott pointed out.