An epidemic of hand, foot-and-mouth disease in Sarawak has killed a sixth person.

A 14-month-old toddler became the latest to die of the disease in Sarawak, state Deputy Chief Minister George Chan was quoted as saying by the national Bernama news agency. All the victims have so far been under the age of five.

Chan said a total of 3,984 cases have been recorded in the state since the beginning of the outbreak this year.

To prevent the problem from worsening, Chan said the government was considering taking more drastic measures, including closing playgrounds.

Earlier this month, the Health Ministry ordered all kindergartens in the state to be closed for two weeks.

At least 14 primary schools have also been ordered to close for two weeks after students were struck by the virus.

Poor hygiene

The disease, which is spread by poor hygiene and mainly affects infants and young children, causes painful mouth and throat ulcers, blisters on hands and feet and fever.

Sarawak has periodically been hit by the disease. In the worst outbreak in 1997, the state on Borneo island recorded 31 fatalities.

Officials have said that Sarawak was recording about 200 new cases of the disease daily.

Health Minister Chua Soi Lek has repeatedly warned parents to avoid taking their children to crowded places such as shopping malls and cinemas to prevent the disease from spreading.

Neighbouring oil-rich Brunei is also battling an outbreak of the virus and has closed all primary and nursery schools after one child died from the disease.