Though a recent outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease at a local nursery had some parents worried, authorities said yesterday the disease is completely different from the foot-and-mouth disease contracted by European livestock.

The Royal Gazette understands that two two-year-olds who attend the Kiddie Academy nursery in Warwick showed symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) this week.

This prompted the Department of Health to send out letters to parents at the nursery to alert them.

Senior medical officer Dr. Brenda Davidson said the disease is not serious and occurs seasonally, mainly in the summer or autumn. It is caused by the coxsackie virus which, she said, is very common.

"There's nothing sinister about it," she said.

Coxsackie virus disease usually affects the inside of the mouth, palms of the hands and soles of the feet with spots.

Symptoms are a fever, sores in the mouth and a rash with blisters, poor appetite, a sore throat and "feeling sick".

Young children are primarily infected by the disease, which spreads mainly from the faeces of an infected person to the mouth of the next person.

It is also spread by coughing and sneezing, person to person contact, and saliva on hands or toys.

The virus can causes blisters in the mouth, which can be infectious.

There is no specific treatment for the virus once infected.

The only way to prevent the spread of the disease is washing of hands, covering mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, and washing toys and other surfaces.

The Health Department stated that children may return to school "only if they are not acutely ill, do not have ulcers in the mouth, or if the blisters have crusted and are dried."

An article from the Centres for Disease Control in the US stated that the disease is mild.

Nearly all patients recover without medical treatment in seven to ten days, the CDC said.