Ho Chi Minh City health officials have warned of significant dengue fever and hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) outbreaks since the onset of the rainy season.

Meanwhile, dengue fever has sickened around 4,000 city residents — a 92-percent increase from the same period last year.

In May alone, more than 500 dengue fever cases were reported in HCMC.

Doctor Tran Anh Tuan of the HCMC Children’s Hospital 1 advised parents not to take their children to crowded places because they could easily catch fever and respiratory infection during the transition into the rainy season.

Doctors also warned of gastro-intestinal diseases, including E.coli outbreaks, during this time of year.

On Wednesday, the HCMC Health Department ordered officials in 24 districts to launch campaigns to raise public awareness about HFMD and other diseases during the rainy season.

The HCMC Preventive Health Center said it would organize a campaign to clean up the environment to prevent dengue fever, next week.