Sure not sorry: football game canceled due to foot-and-mouth disease concerns

Scarborough and Massabesic high school students said they were proactive when they canceled the Friday afternoon football game because of their concerns about the contagion, but not too serious, of foot-and-mouth disease.

In a letter to parents, students and community members on Thursday night, Scarborough officials said Massabesic High had reported cases of Coxsackie virus, which causes foot-and-mouth disease. Massabesic, in Waterboro, is part of Regional School Unit 57.

The guards will also give "extra attention" to disinfecting locker rooms and other school zones, Massabesic officials said.

The Maine Principals Association, which oversees athletics in Maine, said it was an unusual situation.

"We are trying to remember a time when we had to cancel a football match," said Michael Bisson, Deputy Director General of the MPA. "It's a bit new to us."

The disease, common in young children, is highly contagious but not serious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It usually starts with victims having fever, lack of appetite, fatigue and sore throat. A few days after the onset of fever, painful sores usually develop on the tongue, gums and inside the cheeks. A non-irritating skin rash also develops over one or two days, usually on the palms and soles of the feet, and sometimes on the buttocks and / or genitals.

It is usually spread by unwashed hands that allow direct contact with the virus, which is found in the saliva and other body fluids of an infected person.

Almost all people recover in 7 to 10 days without medical treatment, according to the CDC website.

The disease of the hand, foot and mouth disease is not a reportable disease in the Maine Centers of Disease Control, which means that each case does not have to be reported to health workers. ;State. However, the DHHS would be aware of any disease, including the hand, foot and mouth, if it reached "epidemic" status – defined in schools as consisting of at least 15% of the disease. Students because of illness. A spokeswoman said they currently have no confirmed outbreaks.

"We understand that this news is disappointing and that it is affecting some of our home-based projects, but the health and safety of our students is our number one priority," Scarborough officials said in their report. letter.

The letter indicated that the next Scarborough football game will be held on October 6th at Thornton Academy.

The Scarborough-Massabesic match should not be rescheduled, according to the sport administrators of both schools.

"We have no plan to play (Friday, Saturday) or Monday. Beyond that, I do not know where it could fit in, "said Mike LeGage, director of sports activities in Scarborough. "Nothing beats the safety of a child. No play. No points of care. Nothing. It was therefore our priority. This makes these decisions a little less complicated.

Athletic Director Massabesic Brendan Scully, who also chairs the Maine Principals' Association's football committee, said Massabesic and Scarborough would now have a seven-game schedule. If at the end of the regular season, the withdrawal of the playoffs is affected by the withdrawal of the match, Scarborough would win a victory, said Scully.

When asked if any other teams or games involving Massabesic would be affected, Scully returned all the questions to a letter sent Thursday to Massabesic parents by the director of James Hand High School. The letter stated that "cases of Coxsackie virus have been reported," urging students to practice good hygiene and "people with" wet "or open and draining" hands and feet "blisters must stay at home wounds are dry and the person is free of fever for 24 hours.

The massabetic letter did not mention any other sporting cancellation.

This story will be updated.

Noel K. Gallagher can be reached at 791-6387 or at:

[email protected]

Twitter: noelinmaine

Related stories