Analysis on Aetiological Surveillance of 278 Children with Hand-foot-mouth Disease

Objective To analyze the aetiological characteristics of hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD) in Yongzhou from January to December 2012,and to provide aetiological evidence for prevention and control of HFMD.Methods Totally,278 cases of HFMD hospitalized in a grade A class 3 hospital from January to September 2012 were selected to serve as research subjects.Throat swab specimens of children with HFMD were collected within 1 week of symptom onset.Real-time fluorescence RT-PCR method was used to detect specific nucleic acids of general enterovirus,Coxsackie virus group A type 16(CoxA16) and enterovirus 71(EV71).The distribution of patients' sex,age,and case sources was retrospectively analyzed.Results Totally,182(65.47%) of 278 HFMD cases were positive with enterovirus universal nucleic acid;among them,EV71,CoxA16,EV71 and CoxA16 mixed infection,non-EV71 and CoxA16 other intestinal virus which were positive with nucleic acids accounted for 82.97%(151/182),0.55%(1/182),0.55%(1/182),and 15.93%(29/182),respectively.Non-enterovirus(NEV) infection accounted for 34.53%(96/278).Most of the patients were scattered children under 3 years of age,with more males than females.Conclusions EV71 may be the predominant circulating strain causing HFMD in Yongzhou from January to December 2012.Real-time fluorescence RT-PCR can be used for rapid diagnosis of hand,foot and mouth disease.Pathogen detection for HFMD among children under 3-year-old,early detection and early treatment are the key points to prevent HFMD deaths.