According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), hand, foot and mouth disease in Ho Chi Minh City is on the rise. Most districts and towns have increased the number of cases.
From the beginning of 2025 to now, the city has had more than 6,700 cases, an increase of 49% over the same period in 2024. The number of inpatient cases increased by 15% compared to the same period in 2024, no deaths have been recorded.
Doctor Pham Thi My Anh - Department of Pediatrics, Thu Duc City Hospital - said that hand, foot and mouth disease is an acute infectious disease, caused by a group of intestinal viruses. The disease is common in children under 5 years old and has the potential to cause a major epidemic.
The main manifestation of the disease is skin and mucous membranes in the form of burns in special places on the body such as the palms and soles of the feet.
In Vietnam, the disease occurs all year round, but there are 2 peak epidemics: from February to April, September to December. This is the time of temperature, the climate is favorable for the virus to develop.
HCDC emphasized that given the rapid increase in hand, foot and mouth disease cases and the number of hospitalizations, it is very important to clearly understand the transmission route and precautions.
The health sector recommends that people implement "3 clean" to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, including clean eating, staying clean, clean hands and playing with clean toys.
In particular, when detecting children with suspected signs of hand, foot and mouth disease (fever, hand, foot rash, mouth ulcers, heartburn), it is necessary to take the child to the doctor or immediately notify the nearest health agency for timely guidance and support.
In addition to hand, foot and mouth disease, measles, dengue fever and COVID-19 are also being closely monitored. In this situation, the city's health sector emphasized that people raise awareness of disease prevention and continue to implement measures according to recommendations.
Faced with the urgent need for a vaccine to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City has just announced the results of the clinical trial of the hand, foot and mouth disease vaccine (EV71) phase 3.
According to Dr. Luong Chan Quang - Head of the Department of Disease Control and Prevention, Pasteur Institute, Ho Chi Minh City, the research team from Vietnam and Taiwan (China) announced the protective effect of up to 99.21%.
