[An analysis of the characteristics and etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease in a Guangzhou sentinel hospital from May to December, 2008].
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the characteristics and etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in a sentinel hospital of Guangzhou.


METHODS
The epidemiological data and clinical specimens were collected from May to December, 2008 for virological investigations (viral isolation, RT-PCR and molecular identification) and phylogenetic analysis.


RESULTS
A total of 309 clinical cases were reported, and the incidence was the highest in 2-4-year-old children, among whom only 15 developed complications, with human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) as the main pathogen (64.7%). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ten Guangzhou EV71 isolates belonged to Cluster C4a.


CONCLUSIONS
HFMD is an important infectious disease in children resulting from infections by HEV71 as the main pathogen in 2008, and the Guangzhou C4a strains co-evolved with the isolates from other provinces in China and the neighboring countries.
Gao
Lu-lu
LL
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, and Department of Infection Control, Zhujiang Hospital, Guangzhou 510515, China. dr.gaolulu@gmail.com
Chen
Qing
Q
Zhong
Xiao-zhu
XZ
Tan
Xi-lan
XL
Zhou
Jie
J
Guo
Jiang
J
Yu
Shou-yi
SY
D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D029821:Enterovirus A, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006232:Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction