Texas boys, aged five and one, ‘catch hand, foot and mouth disease from WATER PARKS’

Two boys 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 was hospitalized with seizures and red lumps across his skin after catching hand, food and mouth disease (HFMD) — which he is claimed to have caught at a water park in the southern tip of the state.

The youngster, who was rushed to doctors by mother Guadalupe Rodriguez, also had sores in his throat that was causing it to begin to ‘close up’.

And in the second case, a five-year-old called Javier was left covered in painful red rashes and spots after going to a separate water park in San Antonio while on a school trip.

Pediatricians are warning parents to be vigilant over the disease that can lead to seizures in serious cases — saying infections tend to rise around early summer and fall months.

Experts warn that water parks can spread the highly contagious disease if their water has not been treated properly, leaving youngsters at risk of infection. 

HFMD — caused by the virus coxsackievirus 16 — typically causes fever, vomiting and a rash covering the mouth, hands and feet that clear up within 10 days.

But in very young patients, the illness can be much more serious and lead to seizures, triggered by inflammation of the fluid surrounding the brain.

The disease is highly transmissible, spread via contact with fluids from an infected person — such as from blisters — and by swallowing infected water.

Ms Rodriguez — who lives in Harlingen, on the Texas-Mexico border — told local station Valley Central News that her one-year-old became unwell after she took him to play at the splash pad at their apartment complex.

The boy initially had little bumps on his arms and around his mouth, which his mother dismissed as mosquito bites.

But by the next morning, these had spread across his body — with the youngster also suffering from red rashes, sores in his mouth and running a fever at 106F.

He was rushed to doctors in Mexico because they could not get to see a doctor locally, where he was diagnosed with HFMD likely via a throat swab, and then suffered from a febrile seizure, or a convulsion caused by fever.

Ms Rodriguez, whose son became ill in mid-May, said: ‘Initially, we thought it was just mosquito bites [on his arms].

‘But, by the following day, we noticed his whole body was full of bumps and rashes.

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‘On Sunday, we started noticing that it was getting much worse. His rashes were getting more red, he started getting some in his mouth and his throat closed up.’

He is understood to now be recovering at home, with doctors saying it could take 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 called Javier was well when he went to Pearsall Park for a field trip.

But three days later, the area around his mouth suddenly erupted in an angry red rash which was diagnosed as HFMD. The youngster also had a fever of 101F.

Ms Rodriguez, who revealed the case last week, said online: ‘I wouldn’t recommend y’all going here for summer and taking y’all kids here’ — in reference to Pearsall Park.

‘Three days ago my son and I went here for his field trip and he ended up getting HFMD.’ 

She added: ‘It was no joke, he was running a fever of 101F and he was in pain, my poor baby.’

Both mothers claim their children caught the infection at the water park, although this is yet to be officially confirmed.

The infections do not appear to be related, with HFMD cases rising early in summer amid higher temperatures helping the virus to survive longer outside the body.

The Pearsall Park is run by the City of San Antonio council, who opened the location — and its splash pad zone — in 2016.

Dr Asim Zamir, a physician at Valley Regional Medical Center, warned parents that cases tick up around this time of year.

He said: ‘Humidity and hot weather promote the application of the virus. They make them [the virus] divide more and become more contagious or more infectious.’ 

About 10 to 15million cases of HFMD are recorded in the US every year, estimates suggest — mostly among children under five years old.

Patients can have a rash that lasts for up to two weeks, over which time they can still spread the disease to others.

Those who are infected are recommended to take over-the-counter pain medications to help relieve fever and pain caused by mouth sores. 

Patients are also told to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, saying this may happen because mouth sores make it painful to swallow.

Children diagnosed with the disease should avoid contact with others for at least seven days in order to dodge them spreading the infection.