Contagious Viral Disease Infects Two More Students In Kinnelon

Kinnelon school district officials have confirmed two cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease at Kinnelon High School and Pearl R. Miller Middle School. The two Kinnelon cases follow at the heels of confirmed cases in nearby communities, included Pequannock High School, where a total of eight high school students on the football team were reported to have the disease.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is most commonly caused by Coxsackievirus A16, and often affects infants younger than 5 years of age. Although adults don't often contract the virus, when they do, it can be spread rapidly, as has happened in other countries like some in Asia.

"Students with a rash and/or fever should not attend school," stated Superintendent Diane DiGiuseppe in a letter to parents. "Any student diagnosed with HFMD must bring in a physician’s note verifying that they are no longer contagious before returning to school."

This past Tuesday, KHS nurse, Mary Jane Smith, excluded three student athletes from sports activities because they presented with fevers. School authorities, aware of the HFMD outbreak in nearby communities, commissioned disinfection of all areas related to KHS athletics, including the locker rooms, gymnasium, equipment, and the athletic trainer's room. Instruction was given to coaches and students to monitor for the presence of HFMD symptoms, like fever and rash, and football practice was cancelled.

On Wednesday, two cases were confirmed and the Kinnelon School district administration cancelled all football practice and any games scheduled for the coming weekend. Soccer games scheduled to take place today against teams at Whippany High School were also cancelled.

HFMD is the most contagious in the first week of infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is spread through contact with an infected person, via coughs or sneezes, and handling of bodily fluids as well as feces. Those infected can exhibit symptoms like fever, reduced appetite, and sore throat. After the fever begins, painful sores can develop in the mouth, often in the back, and a skin rash may present. Some of those afflicted, especially adults, will not show any symptoms at all, but can still pass the virus onto other people.

Image via KlatschmonAcker, Morguefile, used under Creative Commons.