Epidemiology of hand foot and mouth disease in Changge of Henan province,2009

Objective To learn about epidemiological characteristics of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Changge in 2009, and explore appropriate and correct response measures. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on HFMD epidemic data in Changge. Results A total of 1227 HFMD cases were reported in 2009, including 85 severe cases and 2 deaths. Two cases of disability occurred due to the complicated encephalitis. Seventy five cases were laboratory confirmed, the cases caused by enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection accounted for 68%. The annual morbidity was 185.23/lakh and the mortality was 0.30/lakh, case fatality and disable rate were 0.16%. The cases occurred during March-August accounted for 94.46% of the total. The cases of children aged＜3 years accounted for 86.06% of the total. The disease spread widely, but with some clustering. The HFMD patients might be infected with several intestinal virus and suffered from the disease for several times in the year. No difference was found on the detection rate of pathogens for all cases, but the detection rate of EV71 was higher among severe cases. Conclusion In 2009, most HFMD cases were caused by EV71 infection in Changge. The disease mainly occurred in spring and summer, the majority of the cases were infants and young children outside child care settings. It is necessary to strengthen the disease surveillance, health education and health promotion to prevent and control HFMD.