Nearly 100,000 children have hand, foot and mouth disease
According to the infectious disease surveillance system, in the first 8 months of 2026, the whole country recorded nearly 100,000 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, an increase of more than 2.5 times compared to the same period last year.
In the past 4 weeks, some localities have continued to record high cases, including Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Tay Ninh, Lam Dong, Da Nang and Hanoi.
Notably, hand, foot and mouth disease still mainly affects children under 5 years old. This is also a group of children with high levels of exposure at nurseries and kindergartens. According to the Ministry of Health, children under 5 years old account for 87.3% of the total recorded cases.
Faced with the above situation, the Ministry of Health believes that the number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases may continue to increase in the coming time. Some other infectious diseases such as dengue fever and COVID-19 are also at risk of complicated developments.
In particular, September and October are often the time when hand, foot and mouth disease tends to increase. This is also the period when children return to school, increase contact and collective activities, creating conditions for viruses to spread if disease prevention measures are not fully implemented.
Request schools to proactively prevent diseases
Faced with the risk of increased epidemics in the early new school year, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen has just sent a document to the Ministry of Education and Training and People's Committees of provinces and cities, requesting to strengthen the prevention and control of hand, foot and mouth disease and other infectious diseases at educational institutions.
The Ministry of Health requests localities to direct the education sector to coordinate with the health sector to synchronously implement disease prevention measures, focusing on children in preschool and kindergarten facilities.
One of the tasks required is to strengthen propaganda, guide teachers and parents on how to recognize suspected signs of hand, foot and mouth disease, disease prevention measures as well as how to handle when symptoms appear in children.
Educational institutions need to ensure a clean learning environment, airy classrooms, and sufficient lighting. For nurseries and kindergartens, the Ministry of Health requires maintaining the "3 cleans" principle, including clean eating, clean living, and clean hands.
In addition, schools need to regularly clean classrooms, toys, school supplies and surfaces and objects that children regularly come into contact with. Epidemic prevention and control measures must also be fully implemented according to the instructions of health agencies.
