Symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease in children, these are the most common!

Foot-and-mouth disease is common in children. The disease has a latent period, during which the symptoms are usually not very obvious. In addition, some symptoms are easily misdiagnosed, so the best treatment period is often missed.

1. The incubation period of the disease is 1-7 days, 2-4 days on average. The sick cattle become depressed, keep their mouths closed, drool, and make sucking sounds when opening their mouths. The body temperature can rise to 40-41°C. 1-2 days after the onset of the disease, blisters ranging in size from broad beans to walnuts can be seen on the gums, tongues, and inner lips of the sick cattle. The saliva increases and hangs in the form of white foam around the mouth. Eating and rumination cease. The blisters will burst and form ulcers after about a day and a night, during which time the body temperature will gradually return to normal. At the same time or later when blisters occur in the mouth, blisters may also occur on the soft skin between the toes and on the crown of the hoof. They will also break quickly and then gradually heal. Sometimes blisters may also be seen on the nipple skin. This disease generally has a benign course and will heal itself in about a week; if there are lesions in the hoof, it may last for 2-3 weeks or longer; the mortality rate is 1%-2%, and this type of disease is called benign foot-and-mouth disease. During the healing process of blisters in some sick cows, the condition suddenly worsens, with general weakness, muscle tremors, rapid and irregular heartbeat, loss of appetite, cessation of rumination, unsteady gait, and unstable standing. They often die suddenly from heart paralysis. This type of disease is called malignant foot-and-mouth disease, with a mortality rate as high as 25% to 50%. When calves become ill, characteristic blisters are often not seen, and the main symptoms are hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and myocarditis, with a very high mortality rate.

2. Incubation period

The incubation period for humans is 2 to 6 days. The course of disease in humans is very similar to that in susceptible animals, with symptoms of fever, oral fever, dry mouth, oral mucosal flushing, and blisters on the skin of the hands and feet.

3. Prodromal stage

Symptoms are not obvious, usually manifested as general discomfort, fatigue, accompanied by local congestion of the mouth, tongue and pharynx, and cervical lymphadenopathy, often mild headache, malaise and fever

4. Rash Stage

Primary herpes appears at the site where the virus invades, and the body temperature can reach 39°C, accompanied by headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a few may develop hypotension, myocarditis, etc. There is a stinging and burning sensation in the skin folds of the fingertips and the palms of the fingers. The precursors of blisters are the palms of the fingers. Sometimes blisters may also occur in the oral mucosa. The blisters formed in the mouth are convex and full, surrounded by congested areas. The blister fluid is clear and slightly yellowish at the beginning. Secondary blisters will appear on the feet, palms and soles within 5 days after the primary blisters subside. Because the skin is thicker, the blisters that occur are flat. Oral blisters affect eating and swallowing.