Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of hand foot, and mouth disease in a Shenzhen sentinel hospital from 2009 to 2011.
BACKGROUND
We investigated the epidemiological and clinical data of all hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in a sentinel hospital of Shenzhen, China from 2009 to 2011.


METHODS
HFMD cases diagnosed in our institution were assessed from 2009 to 2011. Both epidemiological and clinical features were analyzed retrospectively. All the fatal cases were reported.


RESULTS
A total of 12132 patients were diagnosed with HFMD, of which 2944 (24.3%) were hospitalized. Of the 2944 hospitalized patients, the highest proportion of diagnosed cases were admitted in May and July (989/2944, 33.6%). In 2009 all severe HFMD cases were diagnosed with enterovirus 71 (EV71). In 2010 and 2011, some of the severe HFMD were diagnosed with Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16). Incidence was highest in 0-4-year old children, with males being predominant. There were sporadic cases with HFMD the whole year except in February. All cases were cured in 2009. Six deaths were reported during 2010 and 2011.


CONCLUSIONS
EV71 can cause severe complications and deaths in our region. HFMD is an important public health problem in Shenzhen in spite of stringent measures taken in preschool centers. A high degree of vigilance should be maintained over the disease situation.
Department of Pediatrics, the Affiliated Shenzhen Third Hospital, Guangdong Medical College, Shenzhen 518020, China. 123rong@sohu.com.
Yan-rong
YR
Wang
Lu-lu
LL
Sun
Wan-ling
WL
Xiao
Li-yun
LY
Chen
Xian-feng
XF
Wang
Dong-ming
DM
Pan
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006232:Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies