Temperatures as high as 36-38 degrees Celsius are expected for the southern region, including the border with Cambodia, by late April or early May, according to the Southern Region Hydro-meteorological Centre.

Paediatrics Hospital No.1 reported admitting 250 inpatients with digestive problems each day over the last four weeks. Most of them had diarrhoea caused by food poisoning and digestive ailments.

Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital said it had admitted 30-70 patients with diarrhoea and inflammatory bowel disease over the same period.

 Two small patients being treated at Paediatrics Hospital No.1

Tran Ngoc Luu Phuong, the ward's deputy head, told Phu Nu (Women) newspaper that hot weather was a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria to easily develop in food and water.

Last weekend Pediatric Hospital No. 2 admitted 205 children with pneumonia, and 22 of them were in serious condition, with some in the intensive care ward.

Dr Tran Thi Thu Loan, head of the hospital's respiratory diseases ward, said the hot weather had contributed to the increase in cases.

Respiratory ailments are common among children under five years old, she said, adding that most cases were not serious, but parents should not delay treatment.