DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Pediatricians are warning parents this summer about a rise in hand, foot and mouth disease cases, with young children being the most at risk.

The virus is extremely contagious and most commonly affects children under the age of five, especially those in daycare or preschool settings, they said.

The symptoms can start subtly.

“Oftentimes the first thing that you will see in your child is that they have a little bit less energy,” Katie Hammer, a local pediatric nurse practitioner, said.

“They might be fussier than normal, or a decreased appetite. Oftentimes after that we’ll start to see the rash and sometimes the first place we’ll see it is either on their face or their bottom, and then it will spread pretty quickly.”

The virus can cause red, blister-like rashes

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