KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will continue to raise awareness and empower district health offices across the country to conduct early detection and curb the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said among the prevention and monitoring measures conducted by health district offices were inspections on premises, closure of premises, disinfection of premises, clinical samplings, health education and town hall meeting session.
He said 151 town hall sessions had been conducted since April with 25 per cent involving registered pre-schools, kindergarten and nurseries, or 5,866 from 23, 505 registered premises.
"The town hall meeting session involved operators of nurseries, kindergartens, pre-schools, schools and teachers, indoor playground operators and the Malaysian Complex Management Association.
"The session is a talk on HFMD and the roles of agencies to address the rising cases in the country," he said in a virtual press conference from Geneva, Switzerland.
Khairy said more than 1,000 HFMD cases had been reported a week since mid-May.
He said measures had been taken to reduce the cases by strengthening surveillance activities; raising awareness among the community and improving cooperation among the various agencies.
"The experience of living with the Covid-19 pandemic for two years has prepared Malaysia to face another possibility of mass infections.
"The ministry will also use the infectious diseases tracker in the MySejahtera application to monitor hot spots with HFMD outbreaks," he said.