Fears infectious hand, foot and mouth disease is spreading across Majorca as eight-month-old baby catches it ‘on the plane home’
- More reports have come in of babies and children catching the virus in Majorca
- Emilia Marchant, from East Yorkshire, is the latest to have caught the infection
- Her mother thinks she caught it on the plane because they didn’t stay in a hotel
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Another British child has caught hand, foot and mouth disease on the Spanish island of Majorca, sparking fears of an ‘outbreak’ among parents.
Emilia Marchant, eight months, caught the infection on the plane home, her mother claims, and developed blisters and a rash across her body.
Her case comes just days after it was revealed two Glaswegian toddlers caught the virus while staying at a hotel on the island.
Figures from the affected hotel show 48 people have been struck down with hand, foot and mouth disease in Majorca in the last two weeks. However, other hotels have reported cases.
The infection causes blisters and rashes and is common among children under 10. It is not the same as foot and mouth, which affects animals.
Danielle MacIntyre said her five-month-old daughter Milla (pictured) broke out in a rash when she got home in Glasgow, and she and sister Nevah were diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth
Davina Marchant, a mother-of-two from South Cave in East Yorkshire, was visiting her parents in Majorca along her Emilia.
But just four days after the 29-year-old returned home, she realised Emilia had woken from a nap with a fever and, by the next day, had blisters and a rash on her body.
After realising her daughter had hand, foot and mouth disease, Ms Marchant wouldn’t have travelled if she had known there was an outbreak, she told The Sun.
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Ms Marchant said: ‘I’m convinced she contracted it on the plane and it’s scary because it looks like the disease is spreading.
‘There were loads of children on the plane and just four days after landing in the UK Emilia woke up from a nap with a high temperature.
‘The following morning she was covered in blisters and a huge rash – it is all over her torso.’
The eight-month-old had only recently had an operation to treat kidney problems with which she was born.
‘Airlines need to be doing more,’ Ms Marchant told The Sun. ‘There were no signs up explaining what had happened at the hotel.
‘Just like schools and nurseries I think airlines should have a duty of care to notify passengers when someone has travelled on their planes and contracted an illness not long afterwards, or if there is an outbreak at a destination.
‘If I hadn’t searched hand, foot and mouth and seen all the articles on Majorca I still would be wondering how on earth she had got it.’
Milla MacIntyre was left screaming in agony and was even rushed to hospital after fears her sores had become infected – she and her sister developed the infection after staying at the Club Mac Hotel in Majorca
Parents have hit out at airlines for not warning them about the possibility of children catching the virus, which has been caught in Majorca by numerous children this summer (pictured: blisters on Milla MacIntyre’s hand caused by hand, foot and mouth disease)
Danielle MacIntyre, 25, visited the Club Mac Hotel with her two daughters, Nevah and Milla, and they both contracted hand, foot and mouth disease
Emilia’s case comes just days after two other families reported their children catching the disease from the three-star Club Mac Hotel in the north of the island.
Three-year-old Nevah MacIntyre developed the tell-tale rash after just five days in the sunny resort with her family.
And her five-month-old sister, Milla, also fell ill when the family returned home to Glasgow.
Their mother, 25-year-old Danielle MacIntyre, said: ‘On day five, my eldest was sick and started to get cold symptoms.
‘Her temperature was high and she had a runny nose – it was terrible.
WHAT IS HAND, FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE?
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral infection that causes lesions to form on a sufferer’s hands, feet and mouth.
It can also affect the buttocks and genitals.
The condition is not related to foot and mouth disease in animals.
HFMD is usually not serious and does not require treatment, however, it can cause secondary infections if skin is scratched.
It is most common in children under 10, with outbreaks occurring at nurseries and schools.
How can it be spread?
- Close personal contact, such as hugging an infected person
- The air when an infected person coughs or sneezes
- Contact with faeces, such as changing diapers of an infected person, then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth before washing your hands
- Contact with contaminated objects and surfaces, like touching a doorknob that has viruses on it, then touching your eyes, mouth, or nose before washing your hands
Treatment focuses on adequate fluid intake, a soft diet and painkillers, if necessary.
Source: Patient.org and CDC
‘And when I approached the onsite doctor about it the following day he had said she was dehydrated.’
Ms MacIntyre, a care assistant, said she knew that was a ‘lot of nonsense’ because Nevah had drunk plenty of liquids during the trip.
But on the day the family was due to fly home, Nevah’s condition worsened and she developed red spots all over her feet and hands.
Once home, Ms MacIntyre noticed Milla also appeared unwell so she took her daughters to a doctor who confirmed they both had hand, foot and mouth disease.
Ms MacIntyre added: ‘I know getting this disease is very possible but I just don’t get why we were not warned.
‘They obviously didn’t want to put it out there which is why they want to put it under wraps.’
Charlie Fordham, 26, from Romford in Essex also took her family to the same hotel and her 17-month-old daughter caught the infection.
She told The Sun: ‘The blisters were everywhere. All over her leg, arm and bum – I showed people pictures and they’ve said it’s the worst example of hand, foot and mouth they’ve seen.’
She shared her story after reading about Gareth Garmson, 34, from Birmingham, who she had met while on holiday at the resort – Mr Garmson’s two-year-old son, Curtis, had also caught hand, foot and mouth disease.
The infection is caused by a virus and spreads quickly through physical contact, coughs and sneezes, and contact with faeces.
It is most common among children under 10 years old and, although, it is not serious, can cause unpleasant blisters and rashes on the skin.
Another angry family pointed the finger at holiday companies’ lack of warnings after their two-year-old daughter, Devyn-Rose Archer, caught the infection.
Devyn-Rose Archer, two (pictured with parents Toni and Aaron) caught hand, foot and mouth disease during a holiday to Majorca earlier this month
The contagious virus caused Devyn-Rose to develop red spots all over her body and she began vomiting and developed a high temperature before doctors gave her ibuprofen and soothing cream
Her grandmother Helen Weeks, 50, from Portsmouth, told The Mirror: ‘We noticed that she had a few spots which we put down to prickly heat.
‘On Monday evening she started to be a little hot then she was being sick and had a high temperature.
‘By Tuesday the spots were even more all from the waist down so Wednesday we took her to the doctors which he couldn’t say what it was.
‘He then booked a taxi to the hospital. They then confirmed it was hand, foot and mouth and they gave a prescription for ibuprofen and soothing cream.’
In a statement, Club Mac Hotel said: ‘We’re working with our resort teams and customers to do everything possible to reduce the spread of this highly contagious viral infection.
’48 people have been confirmed with the infection since 11 September. In September we have had over 12,000 guests staying at Club Mac, with 0.4 per cent of them having the hand foot and mouth virus.
‘There are a number of actions that we as a resort are taking to help prevent the spread of the disease and that our customers can do as well.
‘Cleaning and disinfection is being carried out throughout the complex, by all departments.’
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