Two children in Texas have been infected with a virus that causes painful lesions in the mouth after playing in water parks.
In the first case, a one-year-old boy was hospitalized with seizures and red bumps on his skin after contracting hand, food and mouth disease (HFMD) at a water park in the southern tip of the state.
The boy, who was rushed to the doctor by his mother Guadalupe Rodríguez, also had sores in his throat that caused it to begin to “close.”
And in the second case, a five-year-old boy named Javier was left covered in painful rashes and red spots after going to a separate water park in San Antonio during a school trip.
Pediatricians warn parents to be on the lookout for the disease that can cause seizures in severe cases, saying infections tend to increase in the early summer and fall months.
A one-year-old boy suffered seizures and was hospitalized after contracting hand, foot and mouth disease. The young man, from Texas, appears in the photo above.
They became infected after visiting a water park at their apartment complex. The child initially had lumps on his arm and leg (pictured), which the mother initially thought were mosquito bites.
Experts warn that water parks can spread this highly contagious disease if the water has not been properly treated, leaving young people at risk of infection.
HFMD, caused by the coxsackievirus 16 virus, usually causes fever, vomiting, and a rash that covers the mouth, hands, and feet and disappears within 10 days.
But in very young patients, the disease can be much more severe and cause seizures, caused by inflammation of the fluid surrounding the brain.
The disease is highly transmissible and is spread through contact with an infected person’s fluids (such as blisters) and by swallowing infected water.
Ms. Rodríguez, who lives in Harlingen, on the Texas-Mexico border, told the local station Central Valley News that her one-year-old son became ill after she took him to play in the splash pad at her apartment complex.
At first, the boy had small bumps on his arms and around his mouth, which his mother dismissed as mosquito bites.
But the next morning, these had spread throughout his body; the young man also suffered from red rashes, mouth sores and a fever of 106F.
A five-year-old boy named Javier also contracted the disease after visiting a water park in San Antonio. The symptoms of it are shown above.
Javier is pictured above playing in the water in happier times before he became infected.
He became ill with symptoms of the disease three days after visiting Pearsall Park in San Antonio, Texas, on a school field trip.
He was rushed to doctors in Mexico because they couldn’t see a local doctor, where he was diagnosed with HFMD probably through a throat swab, and then suffered a febrile seizure, or seizure caused by fever.
Mrs. Rodríguez, whose son fell ill in mid-May, said: “At first, we thought it was just mosquito bites (on his arms).
But the next day we noticed that his entire body was full of lumps and rashes.
‘On Sunday we started to notice that it was getting much worse. His rashes were getting redder, she started getting some in her mouth and her throat closed up.
He is understood to be now recovering at home, and doctors say it could be at least two weeks before he is no longer contagious.
In the second case, mother Abigail Rodriguez, who lives in San Antonio, said her five-year-old son named Javier was fine when he went to Pearsall Park for a field trip.
But three days later, the area around his mouth suddenly broke out in an angry red rash that was diagnosed as HFMD. The young man also had a fever of 101F.
Ms Rodriguez, who revealed the case last week, said online: “I wouldn’t recommend they come here in the summer and take all the kids here,” referring to Pearsall Park.
“Three days ago, my son and I went here for his field trip and he ended up with HFMD.”
He added: “It was no joke, I had a fever of 101°F and I was in pain, my poor baby.”
The cases do not appear to be related: HFMD cases increased in early summer amid higher temperatures that helped the virus survive longer outside the body and cause more infections.
It has also not been officially confirmed that the infections are related to the water parks, although the possibility has not been ruled out.
Pearsall Park is managed by the San Antonio City Council, who opened the site, and its splash pad, in 2016.
Dr. Asim Zamir, a physician at Valley Regional Medical Center, warned parents that cases increase this time of year.
He said: ‘Humidity and hot weather promote the spread of the virus. “They cause (the virus) to divide more and become more contagious or more infectious.”
Estimates suggest that between 10 and 15 million cases of HFMD are reported in the US each year, primarily among children under five years of age.
Patients may have a rash that lasts up to two weeks, during which time they can still transmit the disease to others.
Infected people are recommended to take over-the-counter pain relievers to help relieve fever and pain caused by mouth sores.
Patients are also told to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, saying this can happen because mouth sores make it painful to swallow.
Children diagnosed with the disease should avoid contact with other people for at least seven days to prevent them from spreading the infection.
