The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has set up five working teams to fight against the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), a contagious viral illness that has afflicted more than 17,400 people nationwide and killed two of them so far this year.

>> 2 children die of hand, foot and mouth disease >> Hand, foot and mouth disease spreads to 60 localities in VN These teams will begin working from this week in provinces and cities that have most suffered from the disease, said Tran Dac Phu, head of the ministry’s Preventive Health Department. These localities include Ho Chi Minh City, the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum and Dak Lak, and the southernmost province of Ca Mau. The teams will examine the epidemic situation and inspect all activities to battle the disease in these localities, based on which they will give necessary assistance to local health authorities to drive back the illness.

From the beginning of this year to May 4, HFMD struck 17,410 people, killing two of them, the department said. Both the number of patients and death toll are lower compared to the same period last year.Patient numbers rise in several localities However, in several provinces and cities, the number of patients contracting HFMD during the January-April period increased in comparison with the same period last year. For example, the number of patients surged by 28.9 percent in HCMC, by 34.4 percent in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, and by 15.5 percent in Ca Mau Province. “More than 2,800 children were infected with HFMD in the first four months, up nearly 30 percent year on year,” Tien Phong newspaper quoted Dr. Nguyen Tri Dung, head of the HCMC Preventive Health Center, as saying. In the first week of April, about 160 children had the disease, but in the following weeks, the number was 200 per week, Dr. Dung said. Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, head of the Infection Department at Pediatrics Hospital 1, situated in HCMC’s District 10, said that child patients with HFMD at the hospital have soared since April. The same situation has been reported at Pediatrics Hospital 2, located in the southern city’s District 1, with the number of children hospitalized for HFMD treatment during the past week was double that in the previous week, said Dr. Do Chau Viet, head of the infirmary’s Infection Department. “Currently, the hospital receives about 40 children with HFMD every day,” Dr. Viet said.            In the southern province of Dong Nai, 1,348 children have developed HFMD in the year to date, with the number of patients rising to 130 per week during the last two weeks, the provincial Preventive Health Center said. Meanwhile, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province reported more than 1,000 children were infected with the disease and one died of it from January to April, up 48 percent year on year.Precautions HFMD is characterized by fever and a rash most frequently seen on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and inside the mouth, the health ministry said. In Vietnam the most common strain is Enterovirus 71 (EV-71), which causes sores in the mouth and blisters on the hands and feet. In some other countries such as Singapore and China, the number of HFMD cases has increased lately, said Tran Dac Phu, head of the Vietnamese health ministry’s Preventive Health Department. Last year, China had two million HFMD patients and about 550 of them died, Phu said. The department has recently released the following advisories: the disease can be transmitted through digestive tracts; there are no vaccines or specific medicines to cure the disease; children under five years old are most vulnerable; and the main preventive measure is following hygienic practices in eating, drinking, and living. In order to prevent the spread of HFMD among children, the ministry recommends that schools should let children having the contagion stay at home for at least ten days for treatment in isolation, Phu said.

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