The official dispatch of the Department of Disease Prevention, Ministry of Health on strengthening the prevention and control of Hand, foot and mouth disease on October 3 informed that according to the infectious disease monitoring system, the whole country recorded nearly 54,000 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in the first 9 months of 2025. In the Mekong Delta region alone, the number of cases has been increasing in the past 4 weeks in An Giang, Vinh Long, Can Tho City, Dong Thap.
The number of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease is mainly in children under 10 years old (accounting for 98.6%), often found in the group from 1-5 years old, children going to kindergartens and kindergartens (accounting for 93.4%). hand, foot and mouth disease is a year-round disease transmitted through the digestive tract and affects most of all provinces and cities, often recording an increase in the number of cases from May to September every year.
At Can Tho Children's Hospital, Specialist Doctor II Huynh Hung Dung - Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases - informed that the number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases has shown signs of increasing in the past 2 weeks. To proactively respond when the disease is likely to increase rapidly, the Hospital has prepared all medical equipment and treatment drugs.
"Currently, there are about 200 beds in the Infectious Diseases Department and each level of disease is divided into levels. Because it will receive patients not only in Can Tho but also in neighboring provinces, the Hospital must prepare medicine for treatment and human resources, when the number of patients exceeds the threshold, it will respond and arrange in time" - Doctor Dung said.
According to Dr. Dung, hand, foot and mouth disease is becoming more and more complicated, so parents should take their children immediately to the hospital or medical facility to take care of the treatment if they see unusual signs in their children.
In Vinh Long province, foot and mouth disease cases are mainly in preschool and primary school children, distributed throughout the province. At the Department of Pediatrics of Vinh Long General Hospital, since the beginning of September, the number of children with hand, foot and mouth disease has increased, mostly with mild levels such as fever, hand, foot and shoulder problems. Notably, there were a few serious cases that had to be hospitalized.
According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control of Dong Thap province, the total number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases accumulated from the beginning of 2025 to week 38 is 4,047 cases, compared to the same period in 2024 (4,855 cases) increased by 5.0%. In week 38, Dong Thap province recorded 93 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease. The risky localities include Cao Lanh, Trung An, Tan Huong, Dao Thanh.
Faced with the increasing risk of children dropping out of school and the possibility of an outbreak at preschool and primary schools, the health sector coordinates with units to strengthen disease supervision at schools and preschools; instruct on hand hygiene, disinfect toys and classes periodically; promote disease prevention communication in families and schools; maintain taking samples for severe cases to monitor the circulation and changes of the virus.
