Hand foot and mouth disease

Hand foot and mouth disease ( HFMD ) is an acute communicable disease , caused by enteroviruses. It usually affects infants and children but can also affect adults

Caused by Enteroviruses -number of viruses can cause it -commonly from Enterovirus genus of the Picornaviridae family Enteroviruses -familiar viruses also include polioviruses ( PV ) , Coxsackievirus ( CV-A & B ) and ECHO viruses EV are non-enveloped , positive-sense , single stranded RNA viruses Atleast 23 EV serotypes -belonging to two different EV species are known to cause HFMD Of the 23 EV serotypes EV71 and CV-A16 are the most virulent Infection with EV71 can lead to severe disease and sometimes result in death ( main strain of severe and fatal HFMD across the globe )

primarily affects infants and children ( age quoted varies from 5-10 yrs ) but is seen and diagnosed more frequently in children under 5 global disease -several small and large outbreaks have been reported through out the world since the early 1970's recent surge has been seen in Asia-Pacific region with large outbreaks in China ( 2008-2009 ) causing serious public health concerns outbreaks common in daycares , summer camps or within family it...