Experts recommended that residents should take proactive preventive measures and protect their health and family members, especially children’s health.
According to a report from the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), the city recorded 287 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease a week ago, an increase of 87 percent compared to the previous four weeks' average, rising to 2,289 cases in total from the beginning of the year to the current time.
Doctor Specialist Level II Nguyen Dinh Qui, Acting Head of the Infectious Diseases Department, the Children's Hospital No.2, Ho Chi Minh City stated that the department is currently performing inpatient treatment for about 50 children, including 40 percent of patients infected with hand, foot and mouth disease.
The current situation shows the rise in children being infected with hand, foot and mouth disease. Most of the children have been hospitalized with symptoms of prolonged fever together with red blisters on the hands and feet, even ulcers in their throat causing difficulties in eating and drinking.
Doctor Specialist Level II Tran Van Khanh, Director of Le Van Thinh Hospital, Thu Duc City recommended that hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious disease spreading from one person to another which would easily cause an outbreak of epidemics from viral gastroenteritis.
Apart from hand-foot-mouth disease, residents need to prevent dengue fever as city-run localities have recorded numerous dengue infections in recent times.
However, thanks to the strict efforts of the authorities and high awareness from residents, the number of dengue and hand, foot and mouth disease infections decreased over the same period last year.
Although dengue fever disease has not yet broken out, resident needs to raise awareness of the risks from the mosquito-borne viral infection disease.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness with a high fatality rate.
The districts and Thu Duc City have been implementing dengue fever surveillance from residential areas, schools and companies and so on to timely zone and prevent from spread of the disease.
In addition, the localities across the city have been conducting campaigns to destroy possible containers of eggs, larvae, pupa and adult mosquitoes; propaganda about cleaning up the environment at residential areas and workplaces; strengthen supervision and thoroughly handle outbreaks and so on.
Dengue fever is an acute viral infectious disease transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito that can lead to death so those infected must be taken promptly to medical facilities for examination and treatment.
