DETECTION OF COXSACKIE IN SINGAPORE

Mr Goh Choon Kang asked the Minister for Health whether his Ministry has detected any case of Coxsackie in Singapore to date.

The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Aline K. Wong) (for the Minister for Health): The Coxsackie virus is present throughout the world, including Singapore. The Coxsackie A virus is the most common cause of hand, foot and mouth disease. It affects mainly children and is characterised by rapid onset of fever, sore throat, superficial ulcers in the mouth and rash on the hands and feet. The Coxsackie B virus sometimes causes inflammation of the heart muscle or myocarditis.

So far this year, the Coxsackie B virus had been isolated from four patients in Singapore. None of these cases had myocarditis. Last year, the virus was isolated from 23 patients and only one of these patients had myocarditis. He recovered fully.

The Ministry of Health is working closely with the Ministry of the Environment to monitor the incidence of the Coxsackie B virus in Singapore.