Inside children’s treatment facility for flu and hand, foot, and mouth diseases

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Vietnam recorded nearly 100,000 hand, foot and mouth disease cases during the eight-month period of 2026, a 2.5-fold increase year-on-year, with the Ministry of Health warning of further rises driven by the severe EV71 strain, while influenza and HFMD have surged markedly at the National Children's Hospital's Center for Tropical Disease sover the past two weeks.

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The center admits and treats around 40 influenza patients and 20 to 30 HFMD patients on average daily.

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Most patients are under five, particularly toddlers under three. Cases have risen year-on-year, though this remains a typical pattern for seasonal infectious diseases.

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A woman from Hanoi's Tay Mo ward tends to her two-year-old grandson, at the National Children's Hospital after the child suffers a seizure caused by a sudden high fever of 39 degrees Celsius before being hospitalized for influenza A.

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In an adjacent ward, a mother from Tuyen Quang province tends to her nine-month-old firstborn undergoing treatment for HFMD after the infant developed a fever of 39 degrees Celsius accompanied by startle reflexes during sleep, prompting hospitalization.

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Diagnosed with Grade 2A hand, foot, and mouth disease, the child's condition has improved following hospital treatment, with the fever subsiding and the skin rash fading..

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Dr. Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the National Center for Tropical Diseases, notes that seasonal influenza and HFMD typically peak as children return to school, which heightens transmission risks, noting that HFMD can progress rapidly and cause severe, life-threatening complications.

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Dr. Hai emphasizes that parents must watch for warning signs of severe HFMD, including persistent high fever unresponsive to standard medication, vomiting, inability to eat, startle reflexes, fatigue, or lethargy, and seek immediate medical attention if these symptoms appear.

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Influenza trends this year follow past patterns, presenting classic symptoms such as high fever, severe cough, respiratory inflammation, and complication risks, with hospitals routinely seeing patient surges during seasonal transitions, which mark peak periods for the virus.

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Seasonal flu typically persists through the winter-spring transition before declining sharply. Doctors recommend boosting children's immunity through a balanced diet, vitamins, hydration, and adequate sleep, stressing that treatment should begin within the first 48 hours for optimal efficacy. Parents need to seek medical evaluation for children under five or those with underlying health conditions to tailor treatment and minimize complications. Additionally, proactive vaccination and isolating symptomatic children, especially from those under two and the elderly, are crucial to curbing transmission.