More than 2,100 children in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City have contracted hand-foot-mouth disease in the past three months, 70 percent of patients are under three-year-old, and 11 children died, according to the City's Department of Health on Tuesday. In southern Dong Nai province, more than 700 children have infected with the disease since the beginning of the year with six children dead, Xinhua quoted a report from the province's health department as saying. In Dong Thap province, there are 240 cases with the most affected in May and early June, the province's health service reported. Local health departments urged residents to wash children's hands regularly, clean houses and the children's toys with antiseptic once a week. If the children have symptoms of a high temperature, difficulty breathing or rashes on their feet, hands and mouth, they should be taken to hospital immediately. Infected children should be kept isolated from school or kindergarten, the doctors advised.
