Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) has claimed 135 lives and infected 76,212 people across the country this year, the Department of Preventative Medicines under the Ministry of Health announced Sunday.

During the past one week, the country recorded an additional fresh 5,000 cases of HFMD.

Furthermore, the rise of dengue fever is also a grave matter of concern amongst the public. Within the past 10 months, more than 41,200 dengue fever cases have been reported in the country with 32 fatalities.

Doctor Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the National Tropical Disease Hospital in Hanoi, said that not only South Vietnam but also the North has recorded many dengue fever cases. Currently, the hospital admits 2-3 dengue fever patients each day, most of whom are Hanoians.

More worrisome, some patients arrive with serious complications whereby they suffer loss of platelets rapidly.

According to epidemiologists, HFMD and dengue fever have been on the rise also because there are no specific medicines and vaccines for either of the two diseases. Moreover, the unpredictable weather conditions and polluted environment has helped triggering the diseases in various parts of the country.