Hand, foot and mouth disease in West Bengal, India: A preliminary report on clinicovirological trend over 3 successive years (2013–2015)

INTRODUCTION: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), an enteroviral disease has emerged as a major emerging infection in India. This is caused most commonly by enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) but can also be due to CVA4-10, CVA24, CVB2-5, and echovirus 18 (Echo18). Virological analysis of the cases of HFMD has been infrequently done in India. West Bengal is one of the worst affected states in India. OBJECTIVE: To document the clinical and etiological aspect, the changing patterns and clinic-virological correlation. Method: a total of 62 samples of throat swab were collected from affected children over 3 successive years in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. RESULT: Five cases had a previous history of HFMD during the last 1-5 years. Fever was usually of mild degree (highest 102°C). There was no apparent correlation between fever of >100°C and a positive test. There was no correlation of viral strain and clinical severity. A test positive for the Viral RNA was noted among 64.51% (40/62) cases. Multiple strains were characteristically present in each year. CVA6, EV71 were found in 2013, CVA6, EV71 in 2014, and CVA6, CVA16 in 2015. CONCLUSION: Presence of multiple strains explained the frequent occurrence of relapses. We expect this small study will serve as an important document for all future studies on HFMD.