Doctors Are Warning That This Super Contagious Virus Is Running Rampant

"This fall, multiple states including Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Wisconsin have reported outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease, a contagious virus that commonly infects children under 5 but can also cause symptoms in older kids and adults, too. "This year, [cases seem] to be out of control," said Dr. Allison Agwu, a professor of adult and pediatric infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore."

"Hand, foot, and mouth is a virus within the family of enteroviruses, explained Dr. Jennifer Duchon, an associate professor in the divisions of pediatric infectious disease and newborn medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Enteroviruses can present with a range of symptoms. In the case of hand, foot, and mouth, "people can have symptoms like a common cold," according to Thomas. This includes a fever, Agwu added, in addition to respiratory symptoms such as a runny nose."

Multiple states, including Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Wisconsin, are experiencing outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease this fall. Case counts in some locations are several times higher than last year, and such spikes tend to occur in cycles. Hand, foot and mouth is an enterovirus illness that commonly infects children under five but can also cause symptoms in older children and adults. Typical symptoms include fever and respiratory signs like a runny nose, plus a rash of red bumps on the hands and feet and painful ulcers or blisters in the mouth, often toward the back of the throat.

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