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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

Coxsackievirus A6 was the most common enterovirus serotype causing hand,foot,and mouth disease in Shiyan City,central China

BACKGROUND Hand,foot,and mouth disease(HFMD)has become one of the most common infectious diseases in China.Before 2016,the primary causal serotypes were enterovirus A71(EV-A71)and coxsackievirus A16(CV-A16).Following the introduction of EV-A71 vaccines in China since 2016,the situation could change.CV-A6 has recently replaced EV-A71 and CV-A16 in some areas of China.However,the epidemiological characteristics of central China remain unknown.AIM To investigate the clinical symptoms and pathogen spectrum of HFMD in Shiyan City,central China,in recent years.METHODS The epidemiological,clinical,and laboratory data from HFMD cases reported to the Shiyan Center for Disease Control and Prevention between January 2016 and December 2020 were analyzed.196 throat swab specimens were collected from hospitalized HFMD patients between January 2018 and December 2020.To detect and genotype enteroviruses,real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the 5'-untranslated region were used.In Shiyan,168 laboratory-confirmed HFMD cases were studied using a logistic regression model to determine the effect of predominant enterovirus serotypes.Based on the logistic regression model,the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator model was used to analyze the correlation between CV-A6 infection and various clinical characteristics in HFMD patients in Shiyan.RESULTS From 2016 to 2020,35840 HFMD cases were reported in Shiyan.The number of cases decreased by 48.4%from 2016 to 2017.Approximately 1.58-fold increases were found in 2018 and 2019 when compared to the previous year,respectively.In 2020,a decrease of about 85.5%was reported when compared to 2019.The most common serotypes shifted from EV-A71 and CV-A16(about 60%-80%in 2016 and 2018)to others(more than 80.0%in 2017,2019,and 2020).EV-A71 lost its dominance in 2017 in Shiyan.Among 196 confirmed HFMD cases,85.7%tested positive for enterovirus,with CV-A6 being the most common serotype(121/168,72.0%).The positive rates for CV-A16 and CVA10 were 4.8%and 3.0%,respectively.There was no EV-A71 discovered.Infection with CV-A6 was linked to fever,myocardial damage,increased creatine kinase MB isoenzyme,and lactate dehydrogenase levels.CONCLUSION CV-A6 was the most common enterovirus serotype in Shiyan City,replacing EV-A71 and CV-A16 as the HFMD pathogen.Developing vaccines against CV-A6 or multiple pathogens,as well as rising CV-A6 surveillance,will help prevent HFMD in central China.

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.

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.

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.

Regional characteristics and spatiotemporal differentiation of the prevalence of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Xinjiang, China

In recent years,the number of hand,foot,and mouth disease(HFMD)cases in China has continued to grow,and the disease has become a serious public health issue.Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is located in the arid areas of Northwest China,where the epidemiological trend of HFMD is gradually increasing and characterized by geographical heterogeneity.In this study,based on the HFMD case data in all counties and cities in Xinjiang,we employed statistical and GIS spatial analyses,and geographic probe models to characterize the spatiotemporal differentiation of HFMD epidemics in Xinjiang during the period of 2009–2018,and quantitatively analyzed the factors influencing the spatial differentiation of HFMD epidemics.The results showed that HFMD incidence rate in Xinjiang had non-stationary temporal characteristics on the interannual and monthly scales,and the monthly variation characteristics of HFMD epidemic were quite different in southern and northern Xinjiang.The spatial distribution characteristics of HFMD epidemics showed a north–south spatial differentiation pattern with the Tianshan Mountains as the boundary;cold spot and hot spot of HFMD epidemics in Xinjiang have shifted from scattered to concentrated,and the spatial differentiation pattern had gradually stabilized.Moreover,the dominant factors influencing the spatial differentiation of HFMD epidemics in Xinjiang were socioeconomic factors,such as per capita GDP and urbanization rate,while the basic factors affecting its spatial differentiation were natural environmental factors.The spatial differentiation and evolution patterns of HFMD epidemics differed between northern and southern Xinjiang.Specifically,the leading role of socioeconomic factors is more obvious in southern Xinjiang than in northern Xinjiang,while natural environmental factors(e.g.,dryness and relative humidity)contribute to the prevalence of HFMD epidemics in northern Xinjiang,and the perturbing effect of these factors was more prominent than other factors.The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for the prevention of HFMD epidemics and early warning of HFMD epidemics in Xinjiang.

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.

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.

Association of IFNGR2 and IL-12B gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to hand,foot and mouth disease infected by EV71

Objective:To study the relationship between the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)of IFNGR2genes(rs9808753,rs11910627 and rs1532) and IL-12 B gene(rs2288831)and the susceptibility to hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)caused by enterovirus 71(EV71).Methods:Blood samples were collected from 145 HFMD children infected by EV71,104 children with EV71 covert infection,and 89 normal control children,followed by DNA extraction.IFNGR2 and IL-12 Bpolymorphisms were detected by imLDRTM.Results:Compared with the control group,IFNGR2rs9808753 genotype and allele distributions of EV71-infected group and EV71 covert infection group showed significant differences(P<0.05).A allele frequency in EV71-infected patients and covert EV71-infected patients was higher than that in the control group(P <0.05).While the genotype and allele frequencies of rs2288831 in IL-12 B did not show significant difference between EV71-infected groups and healthy controls.Conclusion:These findings suggested that the single nucleotide polymorphism of IFNGR2 gene site rs9808753(A/G)was associated with the susceptibility to EV71-infection,and A allele of rs9808753 might be one potential genetic susceptibility factor of EV71-infection.While the rs2288831(C/T)polymorphism of IL-12 Bdid not correlate with the susceptibility of EV71-infection.

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.

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.

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.

The impact of EV71 vaccination program on hand,foot and mouth disease in Zhejiang Province,China:A negative control study

Objective:To estimate the potential causal impact of Enterovirus A71(EV71)vaccination program on the reduction of EV71-infected hand,foot,and mouth disease(HFMD)in Zhejiang Province.Methods:We utilized the longitudinal surveillance dataset of HFMD and EV71 vaccination in Zhejiang Province during 2010-2019.We estimated vaccine efficacy using a Bayesian structured time series(BSTS)model,and employed a negative control outcome(NCO)model to detect unmeasured confounding and reveal potential causal association.Results:We estimated that 20,132 EV71 cases(95%CI:16,733,23,532)were prevented by vaccination program during 2017-2019,corresponding to a reduction of 29%(95%CI:24%,34%).The effectiveness of vaccination increased annually,with reductions of 11%(95%CI:6%,16%)in 2017 and 66%(95%CI:61%,71%)in 2019.Children under 5 years old obtained greater benefits compared to those over 5 years.Cities with higher vaccination coverage experienced a sharper EV71 reduction compared to those with lower coverage.The NCO model detected no confounding factors in the association between vaccination and EV71 cases reduction.

Diagnostic performance of different specimens in detecting enterovirus A71 in children with hand,foot and mouth disease

Hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)is a major public health problem among children in the Asia-Pacific region.The optimal specimen for HFMD virological diagnosis remains unclear.Enterovirus A71(EV-A71)neutralizing antibody titres detected in paired sera were considered the reference standard for calculating the sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive value of throat swabs,rectal swabs,stool,blood samples and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)by RT-PCR or ELISA assay.In this study,clinical samples from 276 HFMD patients were collected for analysing the sensitivity of different kind of specimens.Our results showed that stool had the highest sensitivity(88%,95%CI:74%–96%)and agreement with the reference standard(91%).The order of diagnostic yield for EV-A71 infection was stool samplerectal swab>throat swab>blood sample>CSF sample,and using a combination of clinical samples improved sensitivity for enterovirus detection.The sensitivity of ELISA for IgM antibody detection in sterile-site specimens was significantly higher than that of RT-PCR(serum/plasma:62%vs.2%,CSF:47%vs.0%)(P<0.002).In conclusion,our results suggest that stool has the highest diagnostic yield for EV-A71-infected HFMD.If stool is unavailable,rectal swabs can be collected to achieve a similar diagnostic yield.Otherwise,throat swabs may be useful in detecting positive samples.Although IgM in blood or CSF is diagnostically accurate,it lacks sensitivity,missing 40%–50%of cases.The higher proportion of severe cases and shorter interval between onset and sampling contributed to the increase in congruency between clinical testing and the serological reference standard.