Detection of enteroviruses during a 2018 hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak in Malaysia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2021

Abstract

Hand, foot, and mouth disease ( HFMD) is a common childhood disease caused by enteroviruses. In 2018, a HFMD outbreak in Malaysia affected over 76,000 children. In this study, we used RT-qPCR and CODEHOP PCR to detect the causative agents in 89 clinically diagnosed HFMD patients in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Most (62.9%) of the children were below 3 years old. PCR with either assay detected enteroviruses in 84.2% (75/89) and CODEHOP PCR successfully typed 66.7% (50/75) of the enteroviruses. Sequencing of CODEHOP amplicons showed co-circulation of multiple enteroviruses with coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6) and A16 as the predominant serotypes, but not the neurovirulent enterovirus A71. CV-A6 infection was more common in children less than 12 months old (p=0.01) and was more likely to cause vesicles in the gluteal area (p=0.01) compared to other enteroviruses. Establishing a robust identification method during HFMD outbreaks is important for patient management and public health responses.

Keywords

Hand, Foot and mouth disease, HFMD, Enterovirus, Coxsackievirus A6, Malaysia

Publication Title

Tropical Biomedicine

Divisions

fac_med

Funders

Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (Fundamental Research Grant Scheme) [Grant No: FRGS/1/2018/SKK11/UM/02/2],inistry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC), Malaysia [Grant No: 02-01-03-SF1210]

Volume

38

Issue

1

Publisher

Malaysian Soc Parasitology Tropical Medicine

Publisher Location

21-5-2, BLOCK, E, DIAMOND SQUARE, JALAN 3-50, OFF JALAN GOMBAK, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

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