Etiology and clinical characteristics of the 2007 outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease in children in Bei-jing

Objectives To investigate the etiological and clinical characteristics of the outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD)in Beijing,from April to September,2007.Methods Eighty-eight specimens(including 48 throat swabs and 40 vesicle fluids)were collected from 61 patients with HFMD during the epidemic season.The samples were screened with specific primers of VP1 gene of EV71 and CA16 using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Viruses were isolated from 62 specimens from 44 patients(70.45%).CA16 were identified in isolates from 42 patients(95.4%)and EV71 were identified in isolates from 2 patients(4.54%).The ratio of obtaining CA16 and EV71 in patients was 21:1.Differences on epidemiological features and clinical characteristics of the disease caused by CA16 and EV71 were not statistically significant(P 0.005).Conclusions CA16 and EV71 were the major etiological agents of the HFMD outbreak in Beijing from April 2007 to September 2007.Clinical characteristics of HFMD caused by CA16 and EV71 were similar and difficult to be differentiated.