Thirty schools in Bangkok have been closed for 15 days following an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease, a source at the city's Health Department said yesterday.

Symptoms of the disease - high fever, a rash and blisters on hands, feet and mouth - were found in 259 pupils at 30 schools in 20 districts, the source said.

Sai Mai district was the worst affected, with 60 cases.

The schools would be disinfected to kill the communicable disease's viral species, which includes Coxsackie virus type A and B and Anterovirus 71.

The sick students had been placed under medical supervision, the source said.

Hand, foot and mouth disease can be passed on via direct contact with contaminated saliva, excrement or nasal discharge and there is no cure; doctors only provide treatments according to symptoms. In worst cases the disease can lead to fatal lung or brain infection and heart failure.

Between January and the end of July, some 1,009 cases were found, mostly in children aged between two and five, with four children dying of the disease, the head of the Disease Control Department, Thawat Sunthajan, said.

The Public Health Ministry has been urging childcare centres to dispose of faeces properly and to take children with symptoms to a doctor immediately. Teachers were asked to thoroughly wash their hands after changing nappies and before preparing meals.

Related agencies were also asked to regularly check the amount of chlorine in tap water and swimming pools to ensure it was at least 1 milligram per litre.

Meanwhile, caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said nearly 14 million Thais had diabetes and high-blood pressure - but nine million of them did not know.

Pinij said the ministry would implement a policy next year of using health stations and volunteers to help prevent and cut the amount of people stricken with cardiovascular disease, HIV/Aids, cancer, diabetes, and emphysema. Altogether, these diseases killed nearly 100,000 Thais a year, he said.

The ministry also aims to employ more staff over the next three years for its 9,765 health stations so that each has five workers, instead of the current three per station, permanent secretary for Health Prat Boonyawongwirot said.