The bigger picture

HFMD is spread by droplets – that is from an infected person coughing or sneezing – and by direct contact with the fluid in the blisters. It is also spread by the faecal-oral route. Someone can be infectious for up to a week before developing symptoms and up to eight weeks afterwards. 

Children are most likely to get HFMD, with the highest incidence among those under four years of age, and outbreaks within families and childcare centres are common. Infection control measures – keeping the child away from school, for example – are not necessary, unless the child seems too unwell to attend. The usual hygiene measures of handwashing, not sharing crockery and cutlery, and covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing can help reduce the risk of transmission.

The majority of adults are immune as they will have developed immunity as a result of being exposed to the causative virus during childhood. It is worth highlighting that while HFMD is considered a “minor disease”, it can occasionally lead to complications such as bacterial infection of the lesions, and even life-threatening conditions such as encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and meningitis.