Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has claimed 109 lives among 52,321 infections across Vietnam, the Administration of Preventive Medicine announced Wednesday.

Ho Chi Minh City has the highest toll at 26, followed by Dong Nai Province at 22, the agency said.

In average, more than 2,000 HFMD new cases are recorded each week, according to the administration.

The same day, the Hanoi-based Central Children's Hospital announced a three-year-old girl may become the first HFMD fatality in Hanoi.

The girl was admitted to the hospital on September 17 with high fever, meningitis and rashes on her hands and knees, suspected to be infected with the HFMD.

She succumbed to the disease two days later.

The hospital said it had taken the girl's virus samples for testing to confirm if she died from the HFMD.