Corporate Area Prep School Closed by Health Dept.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed four cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) at Stella Maris Preparatory School in Kingston, after a team of health officials visited the institution and carried out their investigations.
‘Due to the highly contagious nature of the disease, the school was ordered closed Thursday (October 8) by the Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department, to facilitate adequate cleaning and sanitization,” a release from the Ministry of Health Thursday night explained.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sheila Campbell Forrester noted that the Ministry is getting the full cooperation of the school’s administration.
Dr. Campbell Forrester pointed out that it is important to note that this disease is not the same as the disease found in animals.
“They are not related at all. In fact, the disease found in animals cannot be transferred to humans and the reverse is also true. They are also both caused by different viruses,” she said.
HFMD is a viral illness common in infants and children. It causes fever and blister like eruptions in the mouth, usually on the tongue, gum and inside the cheek and/or a rash on the skin.
Other symptoms include malaise, poor appetite and sore throat. Infection is easily spread from person to person, as a result of direct contact with infectious virus found in the nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid and stool of infected persons.