Vietnam reports 43,000 hand-foot-and-mouth patients in 8 months

HANOI, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has detected 43,162 hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) patients nationwide so far this year with no fatalities, the country's Preventive Medicine Department said on Monday.

Of the total infection cases, 20,063 have been hospitalized, down 1.9 percent against the same period last year.

However, the number of HFMD infections has increased in recent weeks and tends to rise in the coming period because school year officially starts in September, said the department under the Health Ministry.

HFMD is usually a short mild illness that mainly affects children. Most children fully recover within 10 days and usually less.

HFMD is not related to the disease with a similar name which affects animals.