Hand, foot, and mouth disease cases decline after 13 weeks, but rise in school-aged children

South Korea has seen a decrease in hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases for the first time in 13 weeks, primarily among infants and toddlers. The weekly surveillance report from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency indicated a drop in the rate of patients with suspected HFMD to 35.0 per 1,000 outpatients in the 31st week of July, down from 36.0 the previous week. This marks the first decline after 12 consecutive weeks of increases since the 18th week. The rate among children aged 0-6 years also fell to 46.0 from 48.0. Conversely, the incidence among school-aged children aged 7-18 years saw a slight increase, rising from 9.1 to 9.5 per 1,000 outpatients during the same period. The number of patients with enterovirus infections, which can cause HFMD and viral meningitis, rose to 142 from 111 in the previous week. Meanwhile, cases of intestinal infections, which had surged by 41.1% due to monsoon rains, decreased to 914 from 1,091. Bacterial infections accounted for 62.5% of intestinal infections, with 571 cases, while viral infections represented 37.0%, totaling 338 cases.