The Respiratory Department at Children’s Hospital No.1 is so crowded that mothers have to care for their children in the corridor.

Hand, foot and mouth has been more severe this year and is flooding hospitals with children, as are respiratory diseases, doctors in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Truong Huu Khanh, head of the department, said the department emergency room had received several HFMD children in severe condition for several days straight.

“The children have complications with their nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems, including breathing difficulties and high blood pressure.”

HFMD patients also top the list at the Children’s Hospital No.2, with 55 admitted Friday, including seven in the emergency room.

Tran Thi Thuy, deputy head of the Infection Department at the hospital, said late September and early October was the prime time for HFMD.

Doctors said more children were catching the disease and developing more critical conditions this year than in previous years.

The 80-bed Children’s Hospital 1 was keeping more than 200 respiratory inpatients on Friday.

Tran Anh Tuan, head of the hospital Respiratory Department, said changes in the climate have caused many children under 1 year old to catch pneumonia and bronchitis.

Doctors have also warned about the high threat of dengue fever in children this month.

Le Bich Lien, head of the Dengue Fever Department at Children’s Hospital No.1, said the rate of dengue infections had lost steam this week but could return even stronger, depending on the weather and the effectiveness of prevention measures.

There have been years in which the disease has peaked in November and December, Lien said.

Reported by Thanh Tung