Dr. Jose Martin M. Evangelista, chief of City Health Office - Pediatric Section of Kidapawan. (Photo courtesy of Kidapawan CIO) COTABATO CITY - A health official in Kidapawan City has raised the alarm over the highly contagious Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) after 48 cases were recorded in the area last month alone. "In 2022, we only monitored about 21 cases but in January alone this year, there were 48 cases in the city's 40 villages," Dr. Jose Martin M. Evangelista, chief of the Kidapawan Health Office - Pediatric Section, said in a statement Thursday. "This could be under-reported, and we expect the number to rise when all cases are reported," he added. Evangelista said he noticed that most parents whose children have confirmed to have the virus were unaware of it. "There could be more cases because we believed parents were not aware that HFMD has affected their children," he said, adding that the virus usually hit children 5-year-old and below