EV-A71 Infections: Life Cycle and Prevention Strategies

Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease (HFMD) is a highly contagious disease caused by enteroviruses, which is common in Asia-Pacific countries, including China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Children are more susceptible to infection, especially newborns and children under-5-year-old. HFMD may cause severe symptoms like encephalitis, meningitis, myocarditis, and acute pulmonary edema which can lead to death if no early detection or prompt treating is carried out. Various professional researches indicated the main causes of HFMD were enteroviruses in the Picornaviridae family, particularly Coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) and Enterovirus 71 (EV71). Both factors cause the same beginning symptoms, but while CVA16’s are mild and can be self-recuperated after 10-14 days, EV71’s are more dangerous and can lead to neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory complications, causing death or permanent brain damages. Preventing EV71 infection is extremely necessary as it not only decreases severe HFMD but also interferes with the virus speciation through homologous recombination to reduce the complexity of epidemic situation in the world. Therefore, synthesizing information about the virus life cycle and prevention strategies against EV71 is crucial and essential to provide an overview about the potential methods for vaccines and medicines development or food supplement manufactures which contributes to preventing EV71 infection.