There has been a sharp increase in the incidence of hand, foot and mouth disease in China, an unfavorable trend that deserved public attention. In order to gain insight into the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease, data were descriptively analyzed for 98 patients who were in a hospital in China between May and June in 2008. A high incidence of hand, foot and mouth disease occurred mostly in infants aged 1 to 5 years ( 80. 61% ) living in village or suburban areas. The children living at home ( 73. 47% ) were more likely to acquire the disease than the children attending boarding kindergartens ( 26. 53% ) . Typical clinical presentations included fever and rash. All 98 patients presented with a rash, and 88 patients ( 89. 80% ) had a fever. The rash was present mostly on the hands, feet, mouth, buttocks, and knees. Routine laboratory studies showed either no change or increase in white blood cell counts. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction( RT-PCR) examination showed positive EV71 ( 74 cases) or CA16 ( 4 cases) infections. Previous studies demonstrated that antivirus treatment and symptomatic treatment for hand, foot and mouth disease are effective, with the infection typically being controlled in approximately one week. Without treatment, the course of the disease leads to grave complications, including death. Integrated control measures including active treatment of infections, controlling the source of infection and health education should be carried out.
YANG Hai-Ying；WANG Feng-Bin；WANG Jiang-Rong；HU Yun-Wen；SONG Zhi-Gang；HE Jing；TIAN Di；OU Qiang.
Epidemiological study and clinical analysis of 98 patients with hand ,foot and mouth disease[J]. Journal of Microbes and Infections. 2009, 4(1): 22-25
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