MANILA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday that it has tallied 37,368 cases of highly contagious hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) from January to Aug. 9, seven times higher than the same period last year.
The agency said around 50 percent of the cases were detected in children aged one to three years old.
The DOH reminded Filipinos that HFMD is a highly contagious viral illness that typically affects infants and young children, causing symptoms like fever, painful mouth sores, and a rash with blisters on the hands, feet, and buttocks. It spreads through close contact with an infected person’s saliva, mucus, blister fluid, or feces. ■