Enterovirus 71 Infection and Prevention

Enterovirus 71 (EV71), a single-stranded RNA virus, belongs to family Picornaviridae, genus Enterovirus, species Human Enterovirus A (HEV-A). Most of the infected patients were children, mainly presenting with hand-foot-and-mouth disease or herpangina. In 1998, EV71 epidemic caused 78 deaths, thereafter small-scale epidemics or outbreaks were also noted. EV71 infection is now endemic in Taiwan. Even though EV71 did not result in large epidemics in 2006 and the beginning of 2007, more than one hundred severe cases of EV71 infections had been reported between late 2007 and May 2008, showing that the virus continues to threaten the health of children. The prevention of enterovirus infections had become one of the most important goals in public health policy. This review discusses topics in transmission route, molecular epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, prognosis, laboratory diagnosis, therapeutic strategy, and prevention methods, with the objective to serve as a helpful reference for EV71 research and control in the future.