A deadly epidemic of hand, foot-and-mouth disease in Sarawak is easing and hundreds of kindergartens closed to curb its spread will reopen next week, officials said today.

After claiming eight lives and infecting thousands, the number of cases emerging in the eastern state was now falling, said Health Ministry disease control department director Ramlee Rahmat.

"From our analysis, it is on the downward trend. The kindergartens need to be open. They cannot remain closed for a long time," Ramlee told AFP.

However, he said that kindergarten operators, schools and the general public needed to remain alert and observe health guidelines to combat the disease, which affects mainly infants and young children and causes mouth and throat ulcers.

Must maintain caution

"The number of cases is coming down. But it is there everywhere. We need to be cautious," he said.

On March 3, the Health Ministry ordered the closure of all 488 kindergartens and child-care centres in Sarawak. The majority of cases have so far been recorded in the state's main towns, including its capital Kuching.

Sarawak has been hit periodically by the disease. In the worst outbreak in 1997, it recorded 31 fatalities.