Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in the Andaman Islands, India

Objectives To investigate an outbreak of Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Andaman Islands during 2013. Methods Epidemiological, clinical data and samples were collected from HFMD patients who attended selected hospitals. Data were analyzed and samples were processed for detection of Enterovirus and further confirmed by sequencing. Serotype-specific molecular typing was also done to identify the etiological agent. Results Of the 246 suspected patients, most were affected in August 2013 (92/246, 37.4%). Fever (71.2%) associated with typical HFMD rashes (100%) were the most common presenting symptoms and rashes were mostly distributed on hands (100%), legs (92%), mouth (77%), and buttocks (52.8%). All cases were reported as mild and recovered completely without any complications. Enterovirus was detected in 63 cases (50.4%). Conclusion HFMD was mild, mostly reported in children <60 months of age, and in boys. Coxsackie virus A16 was found to be the only etiological agent for this specific outbreak.