The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Parents of Waitsburg students will want to be sure their children are washing their hands well and often. The school district has sent out two emails letting parents know that hand-foot-and-mouth disease has been reported present in the school.

School nurse Stacy Schwarz, who is in the district one to two times a month, said only one confirmed case has been reported so far.

The disease is very contagious, and the spread of infection can be reduced by practicing good hygiene, such as washing hands often.

"We want to encourage hand washing to prevent not only HFM, but influenz...