The West Virginia football Fan Day has just been canceled after university authorities confirmed five cases of a contagious disease.

What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Football Fan Day Canceled

West Virginia University announced that the fan appreciation day scheduled for Sunday has been canceled due to confirmed cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease. Evidently, five individuals “within the program” caught the contagious disease While the university did not disclose which players fell ill, the cancellation was meant for the protection of all involved.

“Our medical staff is doing an excellent job of addressing the matter. However, there is no reason to put the general public at risk,” said Shane Lyons, West Virginia athletic director, adding that the cancellation was in the best interest of everyone involved in the postponed sports event.

No word yet on when the Fan Day is expected to push through.

Hand, Foot, And Mouth Disease In 2018 Sports

This is not the first case of hand, foot, and mouth disease in the sports world this year. Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets and J.A. Happ of the New York Yankees also contracted the disease earlier this year. Both pitchers were able to recover quickly and resume pitching.

Hand, Foot, And Mouth Disease

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a highly contagious disease that is often contracted by children. It is caused by viruses from the Enterovirus genus and can be spread from one person to another via direct contact with an infected person’s saliva, stool, or respiratory secretions, and through unwashed hands or contaminated surfaces.

People who get the disease may develop symptoms between three and seven days after the initial infection. Such symptoms include fever, rashes and sores, poor appetite, irritability, headache, and sore throat.

The disease is so named because of its characteristic symptom in which an infected person will develop sores or blisters in the mouth and rashes in the hands and feet.

As mentioned, the disease often affects children, particularly those below 5 years old but then, immunity from the disease is built up after contracting it. That said, it can still affect people of all ages, particularly when the immune system becomes compromised.

Contagious But Mild Illness

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a generally mild illness that typically goes away on its own after several days even without treatment. However, some may be given medications such as ibuprofen, topical ointments, or lozenges to control or ease associated symptoms.

Eating ice cream, sucking on ice popsicles, and drinking cold beverages effective home remedies for hand, foot, and mouth disease. Avoiding spicy and salty foods, as well as citrus fruits and drinks, is also recommended.