Hand, foot and mouth disease shuts Vietnam schools

A Vietnamese official and state-run media say an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease has shuttered more than a dozen kindergartens after killing 109 children and sickening more than 52,000 this year, AP reported. Nguyen Van Muoi says 10 kindergartens in southern Hau Giang province have been closed for 10 days for disinfection and to check the students' health. Four schools were allowed to reopen last week. Nguyen is the head of the province's preventive medicine center. He said Monday the province has reported 361 cases since June, and some 50 children remain hospitalized. He blamed the increase on children returning to schools after break. The Health Ministry says more than 2,000 new cases of the common childhood illness are reported each week nationwide.