Kids can get hand, foot-and-mouth disease

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ATLANTA, June 7 (UPI) -- Children can't get hoof-and-mouth disease -- that's a disease of livestock -- but they can get something that sounds similar, U.S. health officials said.

Eileen Schneider of the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention in Atlanta, said all children can get hand-, foot-and-mouth disease but it's more common among kids ages 5 and younger.

This viral condition typically occurs in the spring and summer but it usually causes mild symptoms.

"They'll have a fever, they'll have a rash on the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet, as well as perhaps the rest of the body, and they may have blister-like lesions on the skin as well as in their mouth," Schneider said. "There is no specific treatment for the virus, but the symptoms can be relieved."

An article on the virus is published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.