Vietnam - Hand, foot and mouth disease kills 147 in Vietnam

With around 2,620 children contracting hand, foot and mouth disease last week, the total number of patients in Vietnam this year tops 87,500, ten times last year’s figure, the Ministry of Health reported.

Last week five more children had died in Soc Trang, Dong Nai, and Binh Thuan Provinces, taking the death toll in 28 provinces and cities to 147, many times higher than last year, it said.

On November 4 Ninh Thuan became the first – and so far, only -- province to announce the disease as an epidemic after it spread to six of the province’s seven towns and districts, where 417 children contracted it, three of them fatally.

 The number of patients was 24 times higher then in the same period last year, authorities reported.

Most of them were aged below three, they said.

The ministry said it would announce a national epidemic if two or more localities did so.

Later this week it plans to hold a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City with representatives of provinces and cities that have reported more than 1,500 cases to strengthen preventive measures.

The event will be chaired by Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.

Several provinces and cities, including HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Long An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and Quang Ngai, have reported more than 5,000 cases.

Since there is no vaccine against the disease, preventive measures were very important to contain its spread, the health department said.

It called on people to keep their surroundings hygienic and wash their hands regularly, especially the hands of children and those who take care of or feed them.

TUOITRENEWS

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