State Health and Anti-Drug Committee chairman Low Chee Leong said 10 HFMD cases were reported at three child care centres in Alor Gajah and two cases at a child care centre in Melaka Tengah.
Low said a total of 1,280 HFMD cases had been reported in Melaka between Jan 1 and July 21 this year, with 583 cases reported in the Melaka Tengah district, 454 in Alor Gajah and 243 in Jasin.
He said 80% of the cases involved children below the age of seven.
So far, no deaths due to HFMD have been reported in the state, he added.
Earlier, all supermarkets and shopping complexes in Penang were ordered to disinfect trollies, toys and benches on their premises following an increase in the number of HFMD cases in the state.
State Health, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, and Rural Development Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said the directive was issued by the Penang Health Department after checks found that these items were among the causes for the spread of the disease.
He said the directive was issued on July 20 and these premises have been urged to use bleach at a ratio of 1:10 to curb the spread of the disease.
“Yes, it is true there has been such a directive as spread on the social media.
“As I have said before, the spread of HFMD is not just through trollies at the supermarkets of shopping malls, but also at the children’s playgrounds.
“So I hope the owners and operators of the supermarkets and shopping centres abide by the directive to clean their business premises so as to curb the spread of HFMD in Penang,” he said after an event at the Relau Agriculture Centre, Bayan Lepas, near here.
Afif said there was an increase of 128 new cases on Sunday and Monday, bringing the current total of cases to 2,559 compared with 1,102 during the same period last year.
He said 13 patients were still being treated at the Penang Hospital, Seberang Jaya Hospital and private hospitals. The condition of these patients, aged between one and 10, is reported to be stable.
“So far, 23 premises have been closed due to the spread of the disease, involving four primary schools, six nurseries, seven kindergartens, five pre-schools and one nursery.”
The schools which are still closed are Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Juara, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Moh Ghee (Central), SJKC Beng Teik (Central) and SJKC Kwang Hwa, he said.
HFMD is a contagious disease caused by viruses and symptoms include fever, rashes on the palms and feet, ulcers in the mouth and tongue, as well as upper respiratory tract infection (URTI).
It is spread through contact with saliva, blisters or faeces.