FUKUOKA - New cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in Fukuoka Prefecture remained at alert level for the third consecutive week, prompting the prefectural government to urge residents to take preventive measures against the infection, which spreads through droplets and physical contact.
According to Fukuoka Prefecture, the number of new hand, foot and mouth disease cases confirmed at designated medical institutions in the prefecture during the week through June 14 stood at 8.77 patients per institution, 1.25 times the level of the previous week.
The figure has remained at the alert level for three consecutive weeks.
Hand, foot and mouth disease causes blister-like rashes inside the mouth and on the hands and feet. The infection spreads through droplets and contact with contaminated surfaces or bodily fluids.
Fukuoka Prefecture is calling on residents to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and running water, avoid sharing towels, and be especially careful when changing diapers. The prefecture said the virus can continue to be shed in stool for two to four weeks even after rashes disappear, making handwashing after diaper changes essential.
Hand, foot and mouth disease has been recognized in Japan since around 1967 and has since become one of the country’s familiar pediatric summer infections. It is caused by enteroviruses, most commonly coxsackievirus A16, coxsackievirus A6 and enterovirus 71, and mainly affects young children. Japan tracks it through pediatric sentinel medical institutions as a Category V infectious disease, with cases reported weekly under the national infectious disease surveillance system.
Large outbreaks were recorded in 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1995, with different virus types contributing to each wave. The 1990 outbreak involved both enterovirus 71 and coxsackievirus A16, while the 1985, 1988 and 1995 outbreaks were mainly linked to coxsackievirus A16.
A more serious episode came in 1997, when Japan reported multiple cases involving death or severe neurological symptoms during the course of hand, foot and mouth disease. Enterovirus 71 is considered more likely than coxsackievirus A16 to cause central nervous system complications, although severe cases remain rare in Japan.
Since national surveillance began in July 1981, the biggest epidemic on record came in 2011. That year’s wave was mainly associated with coxsackievirus A6, a type that had previously been more closely linked to herpangina, another common summer childhood infection.
After 2011, Japan saw a pattern of relatively large outbreaks roughly every two years, including 2013, 2015 and 2017. Health authorities have noted that the disease usually rises from around late spring, peaks in summer, and then declines toward autumn, although off-season cases also occur.
Another major wave occurred in 2019, when weekly reports from about 3,000 pediatric clinics reached about 42,500 cases in late July, or 13.42 patients per sentinel medical institution, the highest weekly level in the previous decade at that time.
The pattern was disrupted during the COVID-19 period, when behavioral changes such as masking, hand hygiene and reduced contact among children affected the spread of many common infections. Hand, foot and mouth disease later rebounded, with 2024 standing out for a two-peaked epidemic: a first peak in week 28 at 13.34 cases per sentinel and 41,885 cases, followed by a second peak in week 41 at 10.78 cases per sentinel and 33,760 cases.
For a News On Japan background paragraph, you could write:
Hand, foot and mouth disease has been recognized in Japan since around 1967 and is now one of the country’s main pediatric summer infections. Japan has tracked the disease through sentinel pediatric clinics since the start of national infectious disease surveillance in July 1981, with major outbreaks recorded in 1985, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. The 2011 epidemic was the largest since surveillance began and was mainly linked to coxsackievirus A6, while a sharp rebound in 2024 produced an unusual two-peaked wave that kept cases high into autumn.
Source: FBS福岡放送ニュース
