Visit the National Agricultural Library of the U. Department of Agriculture to learn more about Foot-and-Mouth Disease external icon. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. One or two days after the fever begins, painful sores may develop in the front of the mouth or throat.
A rash on the hands and feet and possibly on the buttocks can follow within one or two days. Sores that develop in the back of the mouth and throat may suggest that your child is infected with a related viral illness called herpangina. Other features of herpangina include a sudden high fever and in some instances, seizure.
Sores that develop on the hands, feet or other parts of the body are very rare. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is usually a minor illness causing only a few days of fever and relatively mild signs and symptoms. Contact your doctor if mouth sores or a sore throat keep your child from drinking fluids. And contact your doctor if after a few days, your child's signs and symptoms worsen.
The most common cause of hand-foot-and-mouth disease is infection with the coxsackievirus A The coxsackievirus belongs to a group of viruses called nonpolio enteroviruses. Other types of enteroviruses sometimes cause hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Oral ingestion is the main source of coxsackievirus infection and hand-foot-and-mouth disease. The illness spreads by person-to-person contact with an infected person's:. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is most common in children in child care settings because of frequent diaper changes and toilet training, and because little children often put their hands in their mouths.
Although your child is most contagious with hand-foot-and-mouth disease during the first week of the illness, the virus can remain in his or her body for weeks after the signs and symptoms are gone. That means your child still can infect others.
Some people, especially adults, can pass the virus without showing any signs or symptoms of the disease. Outbreaks of the disease are more common in summer and autumn in the United States and other temperate climates.
In tropical climates, outbreaks occur year-round. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease isn't related to foot-and-mouth disease sometimes called hoof-and-mouth disease , which is an infectious viral disease found in farm animals. You can't contract hand-foot-and-mouth disease from pets or other animals, and you can't transmit it to them.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects children younger than age 10, often those under 5 years. Children in child care centers are especially susceptible to outbreaks of hand-foot-and-mouth disease because the infection spreads by person-to-person contact, and young children are the most susceptible. Children usually develop immunity to hand-foot-and-mouth disease as they get older by building antibodies after exposure to the virus that causes the disease.
People can sometimes spread the virus to others for days or weeks after symptoms go away or if they have no symptoms at all. Rarely, you can also get the viruses by swallowing recreational water, such as water in swimming pools. This can happen if the water is not properly treated with chlorine and becomes contaminated with feces from a person who has hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is caused by viruses that belong to the Enterovirus family. Animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats can get foot and mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease , which is different than hand, foot, and mouth disease. Visit the USDA website to learn more about foot and mouth disease external icon. When and How to Wash Your Hands.
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