High Point, Wallkill Valley the latest schools to come down with the highly contagious virus.
An outbreak of hand-foot-and-mouth disease that some are calling “unprecedented” continues to spread across New Jersey.
The virus was discovered Thursday with members of the High Point High School and Wallkill Valley High School football teams, prompting the postponement both of the school’s Friday night games.
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The disease also has been found in athletes at Don Bosco Prep, Pequannock High, Kinnelon High and Hunterdon Central High. All total so far, six New Jersey high schools in four counties have reported cases of HFMD in their athletes.
“It’s very unusual,” said Jack Kripsak, a sports medicine and family practice physician and also the chair of the state athletic association’s medical advisory board. “The only thing I can speculate is that there’s a new strain of this virus in the air and people are coming down with it. It has to be something that people haven’t been exposed to before. It has to be a new strain. Otherwise, why would this be happening? No one’s ever seen this before.”
HFMD causes painful sores inside the mouth as well as a skin rash on a person’s hands or feet, and it can also lead to high fevers and body aches, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can be spread through contact or the air from coughing or sneezing, and it’s most commonly diagnosed in younger children.
Although the virus can cause significant discomfort, it doesn’t pose serious risks if properly treated with rest, fluids and Tylenol, according to doctors. Typically, the illness subsides in one to two weeks.
High Point’s game Friday night against West Milford has been moved to Nov. 17, according to district superintendent Scott Ripley. A new date for Wallkill Valley’s game against Hackettstown has not yet been determined, athletic director Daryl Jones said Friday.
“We wanted to be proactive and put an end to it,” Jones said. “Hopefully we can get it cleared out of here. We had enough kids with symptoms where we felt like we needed to do something to get it under control.”
Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.