An Eight-Year Study of Epidemiologic Features of Enterovirus 71 Infection In Taiwan

Abstract

In 1998, an epidemic of enterovirus 71 (EV 71) infection occurred in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to assess the epidemiology of EV 71 infection in Taiwan. Between March 1998 and December 2005, a total of 1,548 severe cases of hand-foot-mouth disease and herpangina (HFMD/HA) was reported to the Center for Disease Control in Taiwan. A seasonal variation in number of severe cases was observed, with the annual peak in second quarter. Deaths from severe HFMD/HA varied from year to year (chi(2) for trend = 6.781, P = 0.009). Most (92%) cases occurred in children </= 4 years of age. Children infected with EV 71 had higher risk of pulmonary edema/hemorrhage and encephalitis than those not infected. Infection with EV 71 has emerged as an important infectious disease causing serious clinical illness and deaths of young children. Vaccine development is recommended to prevent future EV 71 infections.

Enterovirus 71 Maternal Antibodies in Infants, Taiwan

“…To improve vaccine development, the target population (those at high risk) needs to be identifi ed. Several studies have shown that infants 6-11 months of age in Taiwan have the highest risk for severe EV71 infection and for death caused by this infection (8)(9)(10). Our serologic study found that 99% of 6-month-old infants have undetectable maternal EV71 neutralizing antibodies.…”

Clinical significance of combined liver function and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein measurement in children with hand-foot-mouth disease

“…For example, the serum hs-CRP level increases rapidly during the early stages of infection, the increase being positively correlated to the degree of infection (Shekhar et al, 2005). Chen et al (2007) reported that hs-CRP played a major role in determining the severity of HFMD based on the observation that the level of hs-CRP was much higher in the severe cases than that in the mild cases (which in turn was higher than that in normal children). In this study, patients with severe HFMD showed higher hs-CRP levels compared to those with mild HFMD, which was consistent with the results of the previous study.…”

Enterovirus 71 Infection of Monocytes with Antibody-Dependent Enhancement

“…EV71 infection has become an important emerging infectious disease in children in Asia (2,6,18,44,46). It was previously thought to occur only episodically, but it is now endemic in the West Pacific area.…”