A nursery school in Fukuoka City, western Japan, has been found to have isolated a baby in a cardboard box after the child was suspected of having hand, foot and mouth disease.

City officials say the baby, who was less than one year old at the time, was temporarily left in the box in the nursery school office in July.

The incident came to light in an inspection the city carried out late last month, based on information from outside the school.

School officials have reportedly explained that rashes on the baby believed to be a symptom of hand, foot and mouth disease had worsened, so they wanted to avoid infecting other children and staff.

Hand, foot and mouth disease does not require time off school.

The city cautioned the nursery school verbally and requested improvement in its practices. It will consider further measures such as issuing written guidance if necessary.

The nursery school has told NHK that blisters all over the baby's body had burst, and the staff panicked. It said looking back, it could have responded differently, such as by wrapping the baby in a towel.

The school vowed to follow the city's guidance and endeavor to care for the children safely.