Hand-foot-mouth disease tends to reduce in Vietnam

The hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) appeared to stop spread in Vietnam. However, there have been a total of 84,000 people infected by the disease so far this year, of which southern cities and provinces account for 65 percent. Dr. Tran Ngoc Huu, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, made the announcement on Thursday at a seminar on the institute's 120-year research and prevention of the infectious diseases. Addressing the conference with participants from the famous Pasteur Institutes throughout the world, including those from France, Australia, the United States, Japan and Singapore, Dr. Huu spoke of the HFMD outbreak in Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific countries. Children are more vulnerable to the disease due to their less resistance to the EV71 virus, so efforts should be made to apply hygienic measures, especially at kindergartens and schools, Huu said.