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PETALING JAYA: Cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have seen a spike, with a total of 31,661 cases detected since the start of the year.
The health ministry said this was an increase of 15 times the number of cases in the same period last year.
Last week, there was a steep 349% increase in HFMD cases from the previous week, jumping from 1,676 cases to 7,526 cases.
Most of the cases – 94% – were among children aged six and below, while 5% were among those aged between seven and 12, the ministry said in a statement today.
The majority of cases were in Selangor at 28%, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya at 14%, Sabah (8%), Perak (8%) and Kelantan (7.9%).
The ministry also disclosed a jump in the number of dengue cases last week by 51.5% to 1,074 cases from 709 cases the previous week.
The total cumulative cases reported so far is 14,725, a 45.2% increase from the same time last year.
It also said nine dengue-related deaths were recorded since the start of the year.
Terengganu had the highest number of dengue cases since the start of the year at 10,007, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya at 1,272, with other states recording less than a thousand total cases.
Symptoms of HFMD are similar to coronary disease
The symptoms are fever, sores in the mouth and throat, loss of appetite, headaches and a rash or rash on the palms, feet, knees, buttocks and genitals.
HFMD is spread through saliva, nasal or throat secretions, broken water or faeces.
