People need to live hygienically and take precautionary measures, especially after visiting the toilets, playing outside or with animals says Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma.
He made the comments in response to the reported illness affecting young children. Dr Sharma added that people don’t need to panic because of the new sickness but to practice healthy living.
“People do not need to panic because such illnesses do not kill,” Dr Sharma said today.
“What we can confirm is that it is a viral infection and we can only determine the diagnosis once we take samples and get it tested. This could either be blood samples or urine samples among others.”
He added that symptoms such as blisters and rashes were not typical like scabies or measles.
Dr Sharma said they needed to get the best result and because of this, samples and tests have been sent to a reference laboratory in Australia.
“We have sent the tests to the reference lab in Melbourne and results could take up to two or three weeks,” Dr Sharma said.
“It could be something like a foot mouth disease but it doesn’t kill. Visit your nearest health facility and take heed of the doctor’s advice.”
Foot mouth disease is a viral infection and just as humans may spread the disease by carrying the germs on their clothes and body, animals that are not susceptible to the disease could still aid in spreading it also.