Cases of hand, foot and mouth disease increase by 700% to 37,368
The number of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in the country from January to August has increased by more than 700 percent over the same period last year, the Department of Health announced on Saturday.
According to the DOH, as of Aug. 9, 2025, the HFMD cases this year have already reached 37,368—more than seven times higher than the 5,081 cases logged over the same period in 2024, explaining some schools’ suspension of onsite classes due to the enteroviral disease.
In Pasay City, for instance, classes at the private St. Mary’s Academy remained in online mode on Friday after four cases were confirmed in separate buildings housing their high school and grade school.
The DOH advisory on Saturday was the first warning it issued over the highly contagious disease after it was criticized for allegedly withholding information about the ongoing surges in dengue and leptospirosis cases across the country.
Dengue cases in the country have increased significantly since the start of the year, with the number of cases reaching about 95,000, a 75 percent hike over the same period last year, the DOH reported after the criticism.
Two other surges
In Quezon City alone, the city’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Division has recorded nearly 7,000 dengue cases so far this year, a 155 percent surge compared to year-ago figures, along with 23 total deaths. From Jan. 1 to Aug. 18, the case count was at 6,872.
DOH also released data on Saturday saying the number of leptospirosis cases in several DOH hospitals decreased significantly from 68 daily admissions to seven new admissions as of Aug. 21. But most of the country has not had significant flooding since last week.
As to the HFMD surge, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said that HFMD is usually a common and mild childhood disease that, like chicken pox, resolves itself in around a week.
Herbosa said about half of the HFMD cases so far recorded this year involved kids aged 1 to 3 years old, but patients need to be isolated and confined at home.
According to Herbosa, no HFMD vaccine has been approved for use in the Philippines, United States or Europe.
“The vaccine is only available in China. This virus, the Coxsackie virus A1 and then the enterovirus 71, has a vaccine, but in the US, in Europe, there is no vaccine yet. It has not been approved yet. So, here in the Philippines, we still do not have a vaccine,” he said.
The DOH chief said that Chinese drugmakers seem to want to be allowed to enter the Philippine market, but Herbosa said there may not be a need to spend on vaccines if the public resumes and maintains the practice of washing hands.
