Health Alert!

Parents, TAIK is taking extra precautions to ensure the health of your children. We seek your co-operation to bring your child to a doctor if he/she is not well and to leave your child at home so as not to pass the illness to the other children in TAIK.

Diarrhoea, meningitis and HFMD (Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease) are on the rise in HCMC. Please read this article :

Doctors blame parental laxity for diarrhoea epidemic (11 Mar 09)

We request that parents submit a copy of your child's medical records if you have not done so. We need to verify that your child has been immunized against meningitis.

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More information on HFMD here (from Singapore Heath Promotion Board).

If your child shows symptoms of HFMD, please do not bring him/her to school as HFMD is highly contagious to adults and children, especially children under 5 years. We will also isolate any child showing HFMD symptoms and make arrangements to send the child home.

Advice for Parents : Parents are advised to consult a doctor early if their child has symptoms of HFMD. They should also be alert to any change in their child's normal behaviour, e.g. irritation and sleepiness. Should they refuse to eat or drink, have persistent vomiting or drowsiness, parents should bring their child immediately to hospital.

MENINGITIS

• Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of a person's spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. It can develop very rapidly and is very serious.
• High fever, headache, and stiff neck are common symptoms of meningitis in anyone over the age of 2 years.
• Early diagnosis and treatment are very important. If symptoms occur, the patient should see a doctor immediately. The diagnosis is usually made by growing bacteria from a sample of spinal fluid.
• Meningitis can be treated with a number of effective antibiotics. It is important, however, that treatment be started early in the course of the disease.
• Some forms of bacterial meningitis are contagious. Fortunately, none of the bacteria that cause meningitis are as contagious as things like the common cold or the flu, and they are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been.

More information about meningitis here.