The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training has received support for its decision not to close the St Ambrose Primary School in Bridgetown on Friday.
The request to close from staff came on the heels of the presence of hand-foot-and-mouth disease at the school.
What is Hand foot and mouth disease? (MAYO Clinic)
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children. Symptoms include sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is most commonly caused by a coxsackievirus.
What causes it?
The most common cause of hand-foot-and-mouth disease is infection from coxsackievirus 16. This coxsackievirus belongs to a group of viruses called nonpolio enteroviruses. Other types of enteroviruses also may cause hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
How’s it spread?
Most people get the coxsackievirus infection — and hand-foot-and-mouth disease — through the mouth. The illness spreads by person-to-person contact with an infected person’s:
Nose secretions or throat dischargeSalivaFluid from blistersStoolRespiratory droplets sprayed into the air after a cough or sneeze
When do you see spikes?
In tropical climates, like in Barbados, outbreaks occur during the rainy season. Outbreaks of the disease are more common in summer and early autumn in the United States.
Treatment
There’s no specific treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Frequent hand-washing and avoiding close contact with people who have hand-foot-and-mouth disease may help lower your child’s risk of infection.
Next Steps for St Ambrose Primary
The Ministry decided that two isolated health events, involving a pupil and a teacher at St Amborse Primary, did not require the school to be closed and Chief Medical Officer The Most Honourable Kenneth George supported the decision based on his findings.
In a press release from the Ministry of Education, it was stated that both education and health authorities are currently investigating two suspected cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease. While Dr George is yet to review the clinical contents of both cases, he explained that “based on the natural history of the disease”, closure of schools is unnecessary.
CMO George reminded that hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a disease of infants, and therefore very rare to present in adults. And, unlike other infectious diseases is “extremely self-limiting” with no long-term effects.
Education to fight hand-foot-and-mouth disease
On Friday, February 16, 2024, Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, along with another Ministry official met with the St Ambrose Primary principal and teachers for just over four hours to gain an understanding of their concerns. A nurse from the Ministry of Health was called in by the principal to sensitise teachers and other members of staff about the hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and the measures to be taken for them to ensure their protection. It was agreed that the school establish protocols with regards to hygiene and person-to-person contact, to limit any potential spread.
The Ministry also instructed the principal to convene a meeting with parents to make them aware of the isolated case and encourage parents to be vigilant, and seek medical attention for their child in the low chance of any symptoms presenting.
Classes will resume as normal at St Ambrose Primary School tomorrow, Monday, February 19, 2024.
