Question
My brother’s four-year-old daughter contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease in the recent outbreak. She has now recovered, but I want to know if hand, foot, and mouth disease can break out again?
Answer
Hand, foot, and mouth disease does not have immunity, so even if a child has had hand, foot, and mouth disease before, there is still a possibility of recurrence. This is because there are not just one type of pathogen for hand, foot, and mouth disease; if the last infection was caused by one virus, the next one could be caused by another. Therefore, parents need to remain vigilant and not let their guard down.