By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, June 14 — Selangor recorded 26,419 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) as of June 11, says state executive councillor for public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud.
She said of the total, 639 children in Selangor have been hospitalised for further observation.
“Throughout this year, we detected 253 HFMD clusters but all are under control. Petaling recorded the highest number of cases with 8,699, followed by Hulu Langat (4,081) and Gombak (3,991),” she told SelangorKini today.
She said the Selangor State Health Department (JKNS) has taken steps to control the infection, including closing 291 child care centres.
“Also 46 centres have voluntarily closed their operations temporarily to curb the infection. At the same time, JKNS is holding briefing sessions and conducting risk assessments at the child care centres,” she said.
As of June 4, 82,846 cases of HFMD were reported nationwide, a 32-fold increase compared to 2,485 cases recorded in the same period last year.
However, on June 9, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the infection is expected to decrease in the next two to three weeks.
