Ho Chi Minh City reported nearly 700 hand-foot-mouth patients in the first quarter, up 57% from a year earlier, state media reported on April 9, citing Nguyen Dac Tho, deputy head of the city’s Preventive Medicine Department. The disease killed one person during the period, Tho said at a meeting with districts’ healthcare centers on April 8, urging for tightening hygiene in schools and the environment to prevent the spread. Between January and March, the city recorded 1,400 dengue fever cases, down 34% on year, he added.
