Nhan Dan - Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is experiencing complicated developments and there is a high risk of the disease's outbreaks in Vietnam, said Dr Nguyen Huy Nga, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine.

In Vietnam, around 3,000 children have, so far, suffered from the epidemic. The figure has equaled 2007's figure.

The number of cases infected with the disease has tended to increase in the north, not to mention to a high number of infected cases in the south.

In particular, many children died of serious heart and brain damage, caused by the hand-foot-and-mouth disease.

In the south, a survey shows that 10% of the reported infected children were infected with enterovirus 71 (EV71), which is very dangerous with associated consequences.

Dr Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that apart from coxsackie virus, which causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease, EV71 has been found nationwide.

Dangerously, Vietnam has yet to have vaccines or forms of action against EV71. Therefore, Dr Hien has given a warning that parents should be careful with symptoms of hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Children should be taken to hospitals after symptoms are found.

In Dong Nai province alone, in the first four months of 2008, 229 children were hospitalised due to hand-foot-and-mouth disease, an increase of 10 fold against the same period last year.

Importantly, the number of infected cases has increased sharply in May.