Expression and clinical significance of pattern recognition receptor-associated genes in hand, foot and mouth disease

Objective:To explore which pattern recognition receptors(PRRs)play a key role in the development of hand,foot,and mouth disease(HFMD)by analyzing PRR-associated genes.Methods:We conducted a comparative analysis of PRR-associated gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)infected with enterovirus 71(EV-A71)which were derived from patients with HFMD of different severities and at different stages.A total of 30 PRR-associated genes were identified as significantly upregulated both over time and across different EV-A71 isolates.Subsequently,ELISA was employed to quantify the expression of the six most prominent genes among these 30 identified genes,specifically,BST2,IRF7,IFI16,TRIM21,MX1,and DDX58.Results:Compared with those at the recovery stage,the expression levels of BST2(P=0.027),IFI16(P=0.016),MX1(P=0.046)and DDX58(P=0.008)in the acute stage of infection were significantly upregulated,while no significant difference in the expression levels of IRF7(P=0.495)and TRIM21(P=0.071)was found between different stages of the disease.The expression levels of BST2,IRF7,IFI16 and MX1 were significantly higher in children infected with single pathogen than those infected with mixed pathogens,and BST2,IRF7,IFI16 and MX1 expression levels were significantly lower in coxsackie B virus(COXB)positive patients than the negative patients.Expression levels of one or more of BST2,IRF7,IFI16,TRIM21,MX1 and DDX58 genes were correlated with PCT levels,various white blood cell counts,and serum antibody levels that reflect disease course of HFMD.Aspartate aminotransferase was correlated with BST2,MX1 and DDX58 expression levels.Conclusions:PRR-associated genes likely initiate the immune response in patients at the acute stage of HFMD.

Hand Foot and Mouth Disease Due to Enterovirus 71 in Malaysia

Hand foot and mouth disease is a febrile sickness complex characterized by cutaneous eruption (exanthem) on the palms and soles with simultaneous occurrence of muco-cutanous vesiculo-ulcerative lesions (enanthem) affecting the mouth. The illness is caused by a number of enteroviruses with coxsackievirus A16 and enterovirus 71 as the main causative agents. Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) belongs to the species Human enterovirus A under the genus Enterovirus within the family Picornaviridae. EV71 has been associated with an array of clinical diseases including hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD), aseptic meningitis, encephalitis and poliomyelitis-like acute flaccid paralysis. A large outbreak of HFMD due to highly neurovirulent EV71 emerged in Malaysia in 1997, and caused 41 deaths amongst young children. In late 2000, a recurrence of an outbreak of HFMD occurred in Malaysia with 8 fatalities in peninsular Malaysia. Outbreak of HFMD due to EV71 recurred in 2003 with an unknown number of cases and mortalities. A similar outbreak of HFMD with 2 recorded deaths in young children occurred in peninsular Malaysia in late 2005 and this was followed by a larger outbreak in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) with 6 reported fatalities in the early part of 2006. The current on-going outbreak of HFMD started in peninsular Malaysia in epidemiological week 12 of 2010. As with other HFMD outbreaks in Malaysia, both EV71 and CA16 were the main aetiological viruses isolated. In similarity with the HFMD outbreak in 2005, the isolation of CA16 preceded the appearance of EV71. Based on the VP1 gene nucleotide sequences, 4 sub-genogroups of EV71 (C1, C2, B3 and B4) co-circulated and caused the outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease in peninsular Malaysia in 1997. Two sub-genogroups (C1 and B4) were noted to cause the outbreak in 2000 in both peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. EV71 of sub-genogroup B5 with smaller contribution from sub-genogroup C1 caused the outbreak in 2003. In the 2005 outbreak, besides the EV71 strains of sub-genogroup C1, EV71 strains belonging to sub-genogroup B5 were isolated but formed a cluster which was distinct from the EV71 strains from the sub-genogroup B5 isolated in 2003. The four EV71 strains isolated from clinical specimens of patients with hand, foot and mouth disease in the Sarawak outbreak in early 2006 also belonged to sub-genogroup B5. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 gene suggests that the EV71 strains causing the outbreak in Sarawak could have originated from peninsular Malaysia. Epidemiological and molecular data since 1997 show the recurrence of HFMD due to EV71 in Malaysia every 2 to 4 years. In each of the past outbreaks, more than one sub-genogroup of the virus co-circulate.

Evaluation on Common Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Treated by Integrative Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine

Objective To evaluate the efifcacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with Western medicine in the treatment of patients with common hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) by conducting a prospective, controlled, and randomized trial. Methods A total of 452 patients with common HFMD were randomly assigned to receive Western medicine alone (n=220) or combined with TCM (Reduning or Xiyanping injections) (n=232). The primary outcome was the incidence rate of rash/herpes disappearance within 5 days, while secondary outcomes included the incidence rate for fever, cough, lethargy, agitation, and vomiting clearance within 5 days. Results The rash/herpes disappearance rate was 45.5% (100/220) in Western medicine therapy group, and 67.2% (156/232) in TCM and Western medicine combined therapy group, with significant difference (P<0.001). Moreover, TCM remarkably increased the incidence rate of secondary disappearance, which was 56.4%in Western medicine therapy group and 71.4%in TCM and Western medicine combined therapy group (P=0.001). No drug-related adverse events were observed. Conclusions It’s suggested that the integrative TCM and Western medicine therapy achieved a better therapeutic efficacy. TCM may become an important complementary therapy on relieving the symptoms of HFMD.

Investigation on Factors Associated with Severe Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Objective To analyze the clinical and laboratory features of patients with mild and severe HFMD to identify early predictive or diagnostic markers for severe cases. Methods Samples of feces, nasopharyngeal-swab specimens, peripheral blood, serum and cerebral spinal fluid were collected. Postmortem pathological examination was conducted on 2 dead patients with complication due to neurogenic pulmonary edema. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain-reaction(RT-PCR), culture and isolation of enterovirus 71(EV71) were performed to detect EV71 infection. Both univariate and multivariate logistic analysis were used to identify factors associated with severe cases. Results EV71 was mainly responsible for HFMD. In this study, 5 isolated EV71 strains belonged to C4 gene subtype. Compared with mild patients, EV71-RNA detection rate was higher and Cox A16 detection rate was lower among severe patients(P < 0.01). Inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung, cardiac and liver tissues were mild by postmortem pathological examination. It was found that body temperature, vomitting, limb tremor, neutrophil, blood glucose and EV71 infection were significantly related to the severe cases by univariate logistic analysis. However, after multivariate logistic regression analysis, only vomiting(OR 16.1, CI 2.3-110.5, P < 0.01) and limb tremor(OR 117.6, CI 13.8-1004.5, P < 0.01) were significantly and independently correlated with the severe cases.Conclusions EV71 was mainly responsible for HFMD, particularly for severe cases. Vomiting and limb tremor were predictive markers for severe cases.

The Comparative Study on Two Models of Syndrome Differentiation of the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease: An Investigation Analysis of the Signs and Symptoms on 2325 Cases

Objective To realize the characteristics of "zheng" differentiation-treatment for hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD), a new methodology of syndrome differentiation for different stages of HFMD has been explored. Methods Total of 2 325 cases with HFMD were recorded by distributing them into exterior syndrome stage, interior syndrome stage, severe syndrome stage and recovered syndrome stage, respectively, and the main symptoms and subsidiary symptoms of different stages of HFMD have been observed. The major and minor pathogenesis of HFMD in different stages were obtained, and compared with the "2010 Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of HFMD". Results It was found that the major pathogenesis of exterior stage was defined as "the invation of the wenevil to the defender of the body with the collaterals got involved ", and the minor as "qi deficiency"; in interior stage, "the fury of Gan-Yang" was the main pathogenesis, and "qi in chaos and qi deficiency" was the minor; in severe syndrome stage, "the damage of heart, liver and lung" was the main pathogenesis, and "qi in chaos" was the minor; and the pathogenesis of recovered stage was "qi-yin deficiency". Compared with the "2010 Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of HFMD", it showed that "the obstruction of the fei-pi qi by the mixture of shi-re evil" and "the mixture of shi-re" in vivo was quite difficult to be explained in completely different context in the general situation; in the severe stage, the TCM clinical characteristics of syndrome differentiation might lose; in the early acute severe cases, the phenomenon that xin-yang and fei-qi almost ran out was difficult to be observed, then, the line between the severe and the acute severe became vague.Conclusions The theory of syndrome differentiation by stages of HFMD was reasonable in the actual situation of clinical description on HFMD which was expected to be further tested and widely applied in the "zheng" differentiation-treatment of HFMD in the future.

Value of serum pattern recognition receptors Collectin, Dectin and CD14 detection for disease evaluation in children with hand, foot and mouth disease

Objective:To study the value of serum pattern recognition receptors Collectin, Dectin and CD14 detection for disease evaluation in children with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). Methods:76 children diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease in our hospital between May 2013 and March 2016 were selected as the HFMD group of the research, 80 healthy children receiving physical examination in our hospital during the same period were selected as the control group of the research, and the serum was collected to determine the levels of pattern recognition receptors, immunoglobulins, complements, inflammatory media and target organ damage indexes. Results:Serum Collectin, Dectin and CD14 levels of HFMD group were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.05);serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) IgM, IgA, C3 and C4 levels of HFMD group were significantly lower than those of control group (P<0.05) and negatively correlated with Collectin, Dectin and CD14 levels;serum PCT, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S100βand surfactant protein A (SP-A) levels of HFMD group were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.05) and positively correlated with Collectin, Dectin and CD14 levels. Conclusions:High expression of serum pattern recognition receptors Collectin, Dectin and CD14 in children with hand, foot and mouth disease is closely related to the immune response, inflammatory response and target organ function damage during the disease progression.

Transmission Dynamics and Optimal Control Strategies of a Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease Model with Treatment and Vaccination Interventions

In this article, the transmission dynamics of a Hand-Foot-Mouth disease model with treatment and vaccination interventions are studied. We calculated the basic reproduction number and proved the global stability of disease-free equilibrium when R0 R0 > 1. Meanwhile, we obtained the optimal control strategies minimizing the cost of intervention and minimizing the infected person. We also give some numerical simulations to verify our theoretical results.

Computational Investigation of Hand Foot Mouth Disease Dynamics with Fuzziness

The first major outbreak of the severely complicated hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD),primarily caused by enterovirus 71,was reported in Taiwan in 1998.HFMD surveillance is needed to assess the spread of HFMD.The parameters we use in mathematical models are usually classical mathematical parameters,called crisp parameters,which are taken for granted.But any biological or physical phenomenon is best explained by uncertainty.To represent a realistic situation in any mathematical model,fuzzy parameters can be very useful.Many articles have been published on how to control and prevent HFMD from the perspective of public health and statistical modeling.However,few works use fuzzy theory in building models to simulateHFMDdynamics.In this context,we examined anHFMD model with fuzzy parameters.A Non Standard Finite Difference(NSFD)scheme is developed to solve the model.The developed technique retains essential properties such as positivity and dynamic consistency.Numerical simulations are presented to support the analytical results.The convergence and consistency of the proposed method are also discussed.The proposed method converges unconditionally while the many classical methods in the literature do not possess this property.In this regard,our proposed method can be considered as a reliable tool for studying the dynamics of HFMD.

Clinical characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Harbin and the prediction of severe cases

Background Hand, foot and mouth disease （HFMD） is an emerging public health problem in China, not only threatening the health of children, but also causing tremendous loss and burden to both families and society. The aim of this study was to characterize the epidemiology and clinical features of HFMD, and to understand the key factors affecting HFMD in the Harbin region to provide scientific evidence for effective prevention and control strategies. Methods Epidemiological and clinical information from 2379 randomly chosen cases of HFMD treated at the Harbin Center for Disease Control and Prevention from May 2008 to November 2011 were analyzed. All cases were separated into common and severe HFMD, with key factors for severe HFMD analyzed using multivariable Logistic regression. Results Among the 2379 patients, 1798 were common cases and 581 severe cases, 14 of which resulted in death. Most cases were in children younger than 5 years. Morbidity peaked in July and was higher in the surrounding country and cities than in Harbin proper. Medical expenses were significantly higher for severe than for common cases （P 〈0.001）. The primary clinical symptoms were fever and erythema; laboratory examination showed leucocytosis together with pneumonia, carditis, and abnormal electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram in severe cases. Multivariabie Logistic regression analysis showed that the key factors for severe HFMD were age, morbidity location, morbidity area, fever duration, mouth mucosal symptoms, and abnormal serum levels of neutrophils （NEUT）, hemoglobin and glucose （P 〈0.05）. Conclusions To improve prognosis, reduce medical expense and prevent the development of severe cases, we should improve the epidemiological detection of HFMD to treat patients quickly. We should also closely monitor children with the EV71 virus, who present with continuous fever as well as abnormal laboratory results, from areas highly susceptible to

Xiyanping injection therapy for children with mild hand foot and mouth disease:a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effects of Xiyan-ping injection intervention in pediatric patients with mild hand foot and mouth disease(HFMD).METHODS: A total of 329 patients were stratified and block-randomized for symptomatic treatment of HFMD and assigned to one of the following groups: Western Medicine(group A, n = 103), Xiyanping injection(group B, n = 109), or Xiyanping injection and symptomatic treatment using Western Medicine(group C, n = 117). During the trial, fever,rash, ulcers of the mouth were observed among participants in each group before and after treatment, and conversion rates from mild to severe HFMD were measured.RESULTS: After 3-7 days' treatment, no significant differences in the conversion rates from mild to severe HFMD were observed among the three groups(P > 0.05). There was a significantly low number of patients with the onset time of antifebrile effect,vanished time of hand and foot rashes and cumulative time for the ulcers in the mouth vanished,among the three groups(P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The onset time of antifebrile effect of patients in groups B and C were markedly shorter compared with those in group A(P < 0.05, P < 0.01); there was no statically significant difference observed between groups B and C(P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the time for body temperature recovery among the three groups(P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in adverse effects among the three groups(P > 0.05).CONCLUSION: Xiyanping injection together with use of Western Medicine is most effective for symptomatic treatment of mild HFMD. No severe adverse reactions were observed.

Construction of Plant Expression Vector for Hand,Foot and Mouth Virus EV71-VP1 Gene and Its Expression in Tomato

EV71-type virus is one of the main pathogens causing the occurrence of hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD),and VP1 protein,a factor that directly determines the antigenicity of the virus,has been isolated.The tomato was selected as a bioreactor for the production of an edible EV71 vaccine designed for the VP1 capsid protein.Using molecular biology techniques,the fusion gene EV71-VP1 was cut from vector PGEX-4T-2,a vector containing the p2300-EV71 gene with CaMV35S promoter and TL regulatory elements was constructed,and the hypocotyl and cotyledons of tomato were transformed using Agrobacterium(EHA105)-mediated method,screened,elongated and rooted,and finally 20 resistant tomato plants were obtained.Five transgenic positive seedlings were obtained by digestion and PCR assay,among which three plants were detected by RT-PCR to be capable of transcriptional translation at the RNA level.The experimental results aimed to explore new material support for the preparation of transgenic plant oral vaccines against EV71 infection and provide a theoretical basis for accelerating the development of transgenic plant vaccines in the future.

Surveillance of Hand,Foot,and Mouth Disease in China's Mainland (2008-2009)

Objective Since HFMD was designated as a class C communicable disease in May 2008,18 months surveillance data have been accumulated to December 2009.This article was to describe the distribution of HFMD for age,sex,area,and time between 2008 and 2009,to reveal the characteristics of the epidemic.Methods We analyzed weekly reported cases of HFMD from May 2008 to December 2009,and presented data on the distribution of age,sex,area and time.A discrete Poisson model was used to detect spatial-temporal clusters of HFMD.Results More than 1 065 000 cases of HFMD were reported in China's Mainland from May 2008 to December 2009 （total incidence：12.47 per 10 000）.Male incidence was higher than female for all ages and 91.9% of patients were 5 years old.The incidence was highest in Beijing,Shanghai,Zhejiang and Hainan.The highest peak of HFMD cases was in April and the number of cases remained high from April to August.The spatial-temporal distribution detected four clusters.Conclusion Children 5 years old were susceptible to HFMD and we should be aware of their vulnerability.The incidence was higher in urban than rural areas,and an annual pandemic usually starts in April.

Characterization of Hand,Foot,and Mouth Disease in China between 2008 and 2009

Objective To investigate the epidemiological and cl （HFMD） since several outbreaks of HFMD caused between 2007 and 2008. inical features of hand, foot and mouth disease by enteroviruses were documented in China Methods HFMD cases reported to the National Infectious Disease Information Management System database between May 2008 and April 2009 were assessed. Clinical features in some of the severe and fatal cases were analyzed the etiology of the outbreaks was investigated. Results 89.1% of reported HFMD cases were found in children〈5 year-old with an age-specific incidence rate of 834.1/100 000 in the first year as the notifiable disease in China from May 2008 to April 2009. The incidence, mortality and percentage of severe cases were studied for three regions of China and found to be highest in the central region. The incidence of severe cases and mortality in rural population were significantly higher than those in urban population. Among the laboratory confirmed EV17 positive cases there were 52.6% mild, 83.5% severe, and 96.1% fatal cases. More myoclonic jerks were found in the severe case group than in group that died. Tachypnea, lip purpling, pink foaming and low limb temperature occurred more frequently in the fatal cases than in the severe cases. Conclusion The epidemic of HFMD in China was characterized predominantly by EV71 infections, had relatively high mortality rates especially in the central region, and was most prevalent in young, rural populations.

Using Interrupted Time Series Design to Analyze Changes in Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Incidence during the Declining Incidence Periods of 2008-2010 in China

Objective To identify patterns of hand, foot and mouth disease （HFMD） incidence in China during declining incidence periods of 2008, 2009, and 2010. Methods Reported HFMD cases over a period of 25 months were extracted from the National Disease Reporting System （NDRS） and analyzed. An interrupted time series （ITS） technique was used to detect changes in HFMD incidence rates in terms of level and slope between declining incidence periods of the three years. Results Over 3.58 million HFMD cases younger than 5 years were reported to the NDRS between May 1, 2008, and May 31, 2011. Males comprised 63.4% of the cases. ITS analyses demonstrated a significant increase in incidence rate level （P〈0.0001） when comparing the current period with the previous period. There were significant changes in declining slopes when comparing 2010 to 2009, and 2010 to 2008 （all P〈O.O05）, but not 2009 to 2008. Conclusion Incremental changes in incidence rate level during the declining incidence periods of 2009 and 2010 can potentially be attributed to a few factors. The more steeply declining slope in 2010 compared with previous years could be ascribed to the implementation of more effective interventions and preventive strategies in 2010. Further investigation is required to examine this possibility.

National Epidemiology and Evolutionary History of Four Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease-Related Enteroviruses in China from 2008 to 2016

Hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) is a major public health concern in China. The most predominant enteroviruses that cause HFMD have traditionally been attributed to enterovirus A71(EVA71) and coxsackievirus A16(CVA16). Since its first large outbreak in 2008, the dominant HFMD pathogens are constantly changing. In 2013 and 2015, CVA6 exceeded both EVA71 and CVA16 to become the leading cause of HFMD in some provinces. However, there still lacks a comprehensive overview on the molecular epidemiology and evolution of HFMD-related enteroviruses at the national level. In this study, we performed systematic epidemiological analyses of HFMD-related enteroviruses using the data of 64 published papers that met the inclusion criteria, and conducted phylogenetic analyses based on 12,080 partial VP1 sequences identified in China before 31 st June 2018. We found that EVA71 prevalence has decreased sharply but other enteroviruses have increased rapidly from 2008 to 2016 and that one subtype of each enterovirus is represented during the epidemic. In addition, four genotypes EVA71_C4, CVA16_B1, CVA6_D and CVA10_C are the most predominant enterovirus strains and collectively they cause over 90% of all HFMD cases in China according to the phylogenetic trees using representative partial VP1 sequences. These four major enterovirus genotypes have different geographical distributions, and they may cocirculate with other genotypes and serotypes. These results suggest that more molecular epidemiological studies should be performed on several enteroviruses simultaneously, and such information should have implications for virological surveillance, disease management, vaccine development and policy-making on the prevention and control of HFMD.

Molecular Epidemiological Analysis of Echovirus 19 Isolated From an Outbreak Associated With Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in Shandong Province of China

To elucidate the genetic characterization and molecular epidemiological features of Echovirus 19 （El9） isolates collected from an outbreak associated with hand, foot and mouth disease （HFMD） in Tai＇an city of Shandong Province of China from July to September, 2003. Methods Thirty seven Echovirus 19 isolates were isolated from stool specimens and throat swabs collected during the outbreak, then major capsid （VP1） genomic sequence was determined, and phylogenetic tree was done based on the VP1 sequences among these 37 and other El9 viruses deposited in the Genbank. Also a representative strain named CHN-SD03-TN12 was selected for sequencing of 5′-untranslated regions （5′-UTR）. Results The identity rate was about 98.9%-100% among all these 37 El9 viruses. The genetic relationships between these 37 El9 isolates and other strains reported were also depicted. The identity rate was about 78.4%-78.9% compared with El9 reference strain Burke. The substitutions in the sequence of 5′-UTR resulted in changes in the conjectural properties of 5′-UTR of El9 viruses. Condusion The genetic features of El9 viruses isolated during the outbreak in Shandong Province in 2003 may be associated with a genetic and antigenic drift that changes the virulence of the Shandong isolates, but the molecular changes in Shandong El9 viruses contributing to their phenotype remain to be further illuminated. However, the sequences described in this paper substantiate the changes taken place in capsid VPI and 5′UTR regions. These substitutions may contribute to their tropism and virulence, and play a significant role in pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of the disease.

A randomized controlled clinical study on treatment of hand, foot and mouth disease in children with Reduning injection

Hand, foot and mouth disease （HFMD） has become a major public health problem in China since 2008,which has been widely prevalent in children under 5 years of age. According to the data of the Ministry of Health, the number of cases with HFMD exceeded 1 million during the recent 4 years. The major etiologic agent of HFMD is enterovirus 71 and coxsackievirus A 16. The main clinical manifestations of the disease include fever, maculopapular skin vesicles on the hand, foot and buttock, oral herpes, ulcer; ation severe cases there can be central nervous system infection and/or pulmonary hemorrhage, which are mostly caused by EV71 and may be life-threatening with a fatality rate of 0.3 to 0.5 per thousand cases. There are no specific antiviral drugs, nor vaccine against EV71.~ The difficult problem of the treatment is how to reduce the severe cases and mortality. Reduning injection is a preparation of traditional Chinese herbal medicine composed of Qinghao （Artemisiae annuae）, Jinyinhua （Flos lonicerae） and Zhizi （Gardenia jasminoides）, which was listed among the therapies for HFMD in the 2010 guidelines of the Ministry of Health for diagnosis and treatment of HFMD.2 We now reported the results of our study on the efficacy of Reduning injection in treatment of 81 patients with HFMD. We selected 81 cases who were inpatients treated in 2010 in the Department of Infectious Diseases of Quanzhou Chidren＇s Hospital. The inclusion criteria were as follows： 1. Patients who met either the clinical diagnostic criteria for HFMD ordinary clinical type or the clinical diagnostic criteria for confirmed cases of HFMD （etiologically confirmed cases must account for more than 1/3 of the cases）. 2. The axillary temperature is _〉37.5~C, within 48 hours after onset of the disease; 3. Skin changes such as the rashes and vesicles occurred in no more than 48 hours; 4. Range of age is between 1 and 13 years; 5. Patients or their parents or guardians are willing to participate in the study and sign the informed consent forms. The exclusion criteria were as follows： 1. Patients who are complicated with the following primary diseases： congenital heart disease, chronic hepatitis, acute or chronic nephritis, diseases of hematologic system; 2. Patients who have hypersensitivity with history of allergy to the study drugs or other drugs; 3. Patients who were treated with western or traditional Chinese medicines other than the study medicines for HFMD by the time of the visit to the hospital; 4. Patientswho have been participated in other clinical trial for HFMD. The patients were centrally randomized （the random numbers were obtained from the web version of the Randomization System of Clinical Studies, Clinical Evaluation Center of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 200907001-3） into the following 3 groups： Reduning group （group 1）, 28 cases with 21 men and 7 women; age 12-72 （mean 29.2＋18.8） months; 24 were positive for EV71, 2 were positive for CoxA16 and 2 were negative for both; treated with intravenous infusion of Reduning （Jiangsu Kangyuan Pharmaceutical Corporation, Ltd., 10 ml in each vial, Batch number 100122） at a dose of 0.5 ml.kg-＇.d＂ added into 10% glucose solution for injection, once a day. Symptomatic treatment group （group 2）, 27 cases with 19 male and 8 female; age 12-96 （mean 28.7＋20.4） months; 19 were positive for EV71, 3 were positive for CoxA16 and 5 were negative for both; these patients were treated with intravenous infusion of vitamin C （0.5-1.0 g/d） and B6 （50-100 mg/d） added into 10% glucose solution for injection and ibuprofen （5-10 mg/kg per day, 6-8 hours repeat p.r.n.） or Aspisol （15-25 mg＇kg＂.d1） was used for antipyretic purpose. Antibiotics were added for patients who had increased peripheral blood leukocyte count. And Reduning plus symptomatic treatment group （group 3）, had 26 cases with 17 male and 9 female; age 12-84 （mean 30.4＋16.6） months; 18 were positive for EV71, 4 were positive for CoxA16 and 5 were negative for both viruses; these cases were treated with both Reduning and symptomatic treatments. No significant difference was found among the 3 groups in age, sex and etiological characteristics compared using chi-square test （P 〉0.05）. The numbers of patients who were positive for EV7I or CoxA 16 accounted for 75.3% and 11.1% for each group.

Effect of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Therapy on Severe Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine(CM) plus Western medicine(WM) in the treatment of pediatric patients with severe hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) by conducting a prospective, controlled, and randomized trial. Methods: A total of 451 pediatric patients with severe HFMD were randomly assigned to receive WM therapy alone(224 cases, WM therapy group) or CM [Reduning Injection(热毒宁注射液) or Xiyanping Injection(喜炎平注射液)] plus WM therapy(227 cases, CM plus WM therapy group) for 7–10 days, according to a web-based randomization system. The primary outcome was fever clearance time, which was presented as temperature decreased half-life time. The secondary outcomes included the rate of rash/herpes disappearance within 120 h, as well as the rate for cough, runny nose, lethargy and weakness, agitation or irritability, and vomiting clearance within 120 h. The drug-related adverse events were also recorded. Results: The temperature decreased half-life time was 40.4 h in the WM therapy group, significantly longer than 27.2 h in the CM plus WM therapy group(P<0.01). Moreover, the rate for rash/herpes disappearance within 120 h was 43.6%(99/227) in the CM plus WM therapy group, significantly higher than 29.5%(66/224) in the WM therapy group(P<0.01). In addition, the rate for cough, lethargy and weakness, agitation or irritability disappearance within 120 h was 32.6%(74/227) in the CM plus WM therapy group, significantly higher than 19.2%(43/224) in the WM therapy group(P<0.01). No drug-related adverse events were observed during the course of the study. Conclusions: The combined CM and WM therapy achieved a better therapeutic efficacy in treating severe HFMD than the WM therapy alone. Reduning or Xiyanping Injections may become an important complementary therapy to WM for relieving the symptoms of severe HFMD.

Molecular Epidemiology of Enteroviruses Associated with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in the Mainland of China

Hand, foot, and mouth disease （HFMD） is a common contagious illness which occurs worldwide both sporadically and in epidemics. The disease mainly affects, children and the typical symptoms, which may resolve spontaneously, include mucocutaneous papulovesicular lesions on the hands, feet, mouth, and buttocks. In rare cases, however, the patients may also develop neurological complications such as neurogenic pulmonary edema,

Genetic Variation of Multiple Serotypes of Enteroviruses Associated with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Southern China

Enteroviruses(EVs)species A are a major public health issue in the Asia–Pacific region and cause frequent epidemics of hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)in China.Mild infections are common in children;however,HFMD can also cause severe illness that affects the central nervous system.To molecularly characterize EVs,a prospective HFMD virological surveillance program was performed in China between 2013 and 2016.Throat swabs,rectal swabs and stool samples were collected from suspected HFMD patients at participating hospitals.EVs were detected using generic real-time and nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions(RT-PCRs).Then,the complete VP1 regions of enterovirus A71(EV-A71),coxsackievirus A16(CVA16)and CVA6 were sequenced to analyze amino acid changes and construct a viral molecular phylogeny.Of the 2836 enrolled HFMD patients,2,517(89%)were EV positive.The most frequently detected EVs were CVA16(32.5%,819),CVA6(31.2%,785),and EV-A71(20.4%,514).The subgenogroups CVA16B1 b,CVA6D3 a and EV-A71C4 a were predominant in China and recombination was not observed in the VP1 region.Sequence analysis revealed amino acid variations at the 30,29 and 44 positions in the VP1 region of EV-A71,CVA16 and CVA6(compared to the respective prototype strains Br Cr,G10 and Gdula),respectively.Furthermore,in 21 of 24(87.5%)identified EV-A71 samples,a known amino acid substitution(D31 N)that may enhance neurovirulence was detected.Our study provides insights about the genetic characteristics of common HFMD-associated EVs.However,the emergence and virulence of the described mutations require further investigation.