Bornholm disease risk factors

Bornholm disease is often present in the summertime, therefore it is helpful to be aware of it during this time. The demographic most at risk of exposure includes children attending day-care centers and those under the age of 10 years old. Care should be taken to reduce exposure to already infected patients, and isolation is advised. Poor hand hygiene before meals and after using the bathroom may lead to a viral auto-infection. The virus can be shed in the stool for up to 6 weeks.

The incidence for Bornholm disease can be exacerbated with certain exposures and unhygienic practice. To prevent contracting the disease, it may be helpful to avoid any risk factors that predispose a patient to Coxsackie virus strains. The disease is common in children under the age of 10 during the summertime. Early recognition among children that may be at risk can help reduce the risk of complications. ^[1]Some risk factors include:)^[2]

• Exposure while in day-care centers through sharing toys with other children
• Close contact with already infected patients
• Poor hand hygiene before meals and after using the bathroom that may lead to a viral auto-infection (virus can be shed in the stool for uptown 6 weeks)

In some cases, the presence of other concomitant conditions can result in increased predisposition to disease. These include:

• Infections in children younger than one year
• Prolonged duration of fever (greater than 3 days)

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