Aug. 1, 2018 — A second pro baseball player has been diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease.
New York Yankee pitcher J.A. Happ was sent home from Yankee Stadium before the start of a game on Tuesday, USA Today reported.
It’s a mild case, according to Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman. It’s unclear how Happ contracted the extremely contagious virus that most commonly occurs in young children and can cause fever and sores or rashes on the hands, feet, mouth and/or throat.
Previously, the disease was diagnosed in Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets, who played at Yankee Stadium nine days before. It’s believed that Syndergaard may have picked up the virus while working at a children’s camp during the All-Star break, USA Today reported.
Happ “doesn’t have any idea” how he picked up the virus, Cashman said. “He flew commercially from the midwest to here, so I don’t know if it’s possible that something on the way happened. No one is going to really have an answer to it other than just guessing.”
“It’s a very mild case and our internist felt that if everything is the way it is, he probably will be able to go on Saturday,” Cashman said. “But it’s to be determined. We’re taking the necessary precautions, but first and foremost we’re doing what’s best for J.A. Happ.”
Other than typical precautions such as hand-washing and using hand sanitizer, there’s little that teams can do to prevent future cases, USA Today reported.
“Once we get a feel for it we’ll get a lot more hand sanitizers,” Cashman said. “But essentially, there is no treatment. You just let the virus take its course.”
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