A child infected with hand, foot, and mouth disease is treated at Children’s Hospital 1 in HCM City. —VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Health reported a sharp increase in hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) across the southern region during the first quarter of this year, with numerous cases progressing to severe complications.

According to data from the Pasteur Institute in HCM City, the southern region recorded more than 17,000 cases of HFMD by the end of the 12th week of this year.

There were eight deaths due to HFMD, including four in HCM City, and one each in Cần Thơ City, An Giang, Đồng Nai, and Đồng Tháp provinces, while no death was recorded during the same period last year.

HCM City alone accounted for 8,152 cases.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of HFMD cases in the city has doubled and severe cases have increased nearly fivefold.

In several cities and provinces in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta region, hospitals face a potential “double epidemic” as both HFMD and dengue fever cases continue to climb.

Data from Cần Thơ Children’s Hospital showed a rise in the number of HFMD patients in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year.

Dr. Ông Huy Thanh, director of the hospital, said that the hospital received 524 inpatients from the beginning of the year to date, including more than 20 cases confirmed positive for Enterovirus 71 (EV71), a strain known to cause severe complications in HFMD patients.

The HFMD epidemic situation has not changed compared to recent years in terms of age groups and causative strains, Thanh said.

However, many children were brought to the hospital too late, resulting in severe complications. 

Cần Thơ City recorded 954 cases of HFMD during the period, occurring in all 103 wards and communes in the city, a year-on-year increase of 125 per cent, according to the Cần Thơ Centre for Disease Control.

The highest incidence was in children under three years old, followed by those aged three to five years old.

The Cần Thơ CDC is currently implementing various measures simultaneously, including strengthening community communication.

In Cà Mau Province, the number of HFMD cases reached nearly 1,000 during the period, up 58 per cent year-on-year.  

In Đồng Tháp Province, the number of HFMD cases has increased sharply in recent weeks.

In the past week, more than 120 cases were recorded, bringing the total to more than 1,100 cases in the first three months of the year. —VNS