How should hand, foot, and mouth disease in the child care setting be handled?
In the United States, HFMD outbreaks in child care facilities occur most often in the summer and fall months and usually coincide with an increased number of cases in the community. CDC has no specific recommendations regarding the exclusion of children with HFMD from child care programs, schools, or other group settings. Children are often excluded from group settings during the first few days of the illness, which may reduce the spread of infection, but will not completely interrupt it. Exclusion of ill persons may not prevent additional cases since the viruses that cause HFMD can remain in the body for weeks after the patient’s symptoms have gone away. This means that the infected person can still pass the infection to other people even though they appear well. Also, some persons who are infected and excreting the virus, including most adults, may have no symptoms. Some benefit may be gained, however, by excluding children who have blisters in their mouths and drool or who have weep
